Dictionary

ham-fisted en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈhæmˌfɪstɪd/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• (General-American) audio

Etymology

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.

Meanings

1. (informal) Lacking skill in physical movement with the hands; clumsy.
   • "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!" 1938 April, C[ecil] S[cott] Forester [pseudonym; Cecil Louis Troughton Smith], chapter V, in A Ship of the Line, Greenwich edition, London: Michael Joseph, published 1951 (February 1962 printing), →OCLC, pages 40–41:
2. (broadly, informal) Lacking skill in general; incompetent.
   • [Stephen] Harper has a few weeks' grace, during which he and his ham-fisted finance minister, Jim Flaherty, can ponder the error of their ways. 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:
   • In 1973, Sonia Orwell broke David Bowie's heart by refusing him permission to adapt her late husband [George Orwell]'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. 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 16 Jul 2023:
   • What an utter farce. Just like DfT [the Department for Transport]'s ham-fisted, blundering ticket office closure programme. 2023 September 6, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Leaderless and Rudderless”, in Rail, number 991, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3:

Forms

Antonyms

quick · maestrolike · habile · crack · qualified · thoroughbred · adroit · apt · competent · artful · conversant · consummate · ready · fluent · masterful · skilful · crafty · handy · skillful · accomplished · gain · dexterous · professional · proficient · capable · able · masterlike · masterous · tight · masterly · versed · deft · facile · expert · practiced · adept · skilled · dexterous

Deriveds

hamfistedness · ham-fistedness · ham-fistedly · hamfistedly

Relateds

ham radio

Synonyms

unprofessional · ineffective · amateurish · backwards · bungling · inept · heavy-handed · undexterous · mutton-fisted · bad · unable · unqualified · maladroit · inexpert · ham-fisted · incompetent · unskillful · noob · inapt · ham-handed · incapable · miserable · ham-handed · bungling · clumsy · cack-handed

Translations (20)

fi kömpelö (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · cmn 笨手笨腳的 /笨手笨脚的 (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · no klønete (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · hu ügyetlen (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · sv valhänt (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · de plump (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · nl onhandig (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · nl onbeholpen (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · de unbeholfen (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · pt desengonçado (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · no klomsete (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · ru нело́вкий (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · fi poropeukalo (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · bg несръ́чен (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · sh нѐспретан (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · ru неуклю́жий (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · fr maladroit (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · sh nèspretan (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · nl lomp (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy) · bar påtschert (lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy)