hamming

ham

 (hăm)

n.

1. The thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especially a hog.

2. A cut of meat from the thigh of a hog, often cured by salting or smoking.

3. The back of the knee.

4. The back of the thigh.

5. hams The buttocks.

6. A performer who overacts or exaggerates.

7. A licensed amateur radio operator.

v. hammed, ham·ming, hams

v.intr.

To exaggerate or overdo a dramatic role; overact.

v.tr.

To exaggerate or overdo (a dramatic role, for example).

Idiom:

ham it up

To act or perform in an exaggerated, often intentionally broadly humorous or ridiculous style.

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[Middle English hamme, from Old English hamm. Noun, sense 6, from obsolete slang hamfatter, a poor or amateurish actor, from the song "The Ham-Fat Man" (1863), considered typical of minstrel shows and their low standards of performance and depicting a stereotyped vision of slave life in the American South (including a slave who likes gravy made from ham fat). Noun, sense 7, short for ham operator, originally applied in the 1800s to telegraphers with poor skills, from ham-fisted and ham-handed.]

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Ham

 (hăm)

In the Bible, a son of Noah and the brother of Japheth and Shem.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

hamming - poor acting by a ham actor overacting acting, performing, playacting, playing - the performance of a part or role in a drama

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.