ham-fisted

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See also: hamfisted

English

WOTD – 20 August 2024

Etymology

PIE word
*kónh₂m
PIE word
*pénkʷe

From ham (“thigh and buttock of an animal slaughtered for meat”) +‎ fisted (adjective), probably referring to someone being clumsy as if they have hams at the end of their arms instead of hands.

Pronunciation

Adjective

ham-fisted (comparative more ham-fisted, superlative most ham-fisted) (informal)

  1. Lacking skill in physical movement with the hands; clumsy.
    Synonyms: cack-handed, ham-handed, heavy-handed, mutton-fisted, undexterous
    Antonyms: dexterous, skilful
    • 1938 April, C S Forester , chapter V, in A Ship of the Line, Greenwich edition, London: Michael Joseph, published 1951 (February 1962 printing), →OCLC, pages 40–41:
      "God damn and blast all you hamfisted yokels!" he was saying. "And you, sir, down there. Take that grin off your face and be more careful, or I'll have you clapped under hatches to sail with us today. Easy, there, easy! Christ, rum at seven guineas an anker isn't meant to be dropped like pig iron!"
  2. (by extension) Lacking skill in general; incompetent.
    Synonyms: bungling; see also Thesaurus:unskilled
    Antonyms: see Thesaurus:skilled
    • 2008 December 5, “Everyone benefits from prorogue”, in Michael Den Tandt, editor, The Sun Times, volume 156, number 285, Owen Sound, Ont.: Osprey Media Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page A4, column 1:
      Harper has a few weeks' grace, during which he and his ham-fisted finance minister, Jim Flaherty, can ponder the error of their ways.
    • 2019 November 13, Dorian Lynskey, “Bowie's Books and Why Bowie Matters review – a manic turnover of new ideas”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-07-16:
      In 1973, Sonia Orwell broke David Bowie's heart by refusing him permission to adapt her late husband 's final novel into a rock musical. She had rebuffed every request since the hamfisted 1956 movie version starring Edmond O'Brien, and was never likely to make an exception for a glam-rock dandy, but he was sorely aggrieved.
    • 2023 September 6, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Leaderless and Rudderless”, in Rail, number 991, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3:
      What an utter farce. Just like DfT 's ham-fisted, blundering ticket office closure programme.

Alternative forms

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. ^ “ham-fisted, adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2024; “ham-fisted, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

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