Slang 'Ham'

[Wilson Gray]

*Ham* is a slang-term meaning "amateur, non-professional" in any field, not
merely in sports, hence "clumsy, incompetent, unworthy." In the case cited,
*ham* is capitalized merely for emphasis.

I hope that this helps!

--
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain




On Thu, Jan 19, 2012 at 1:43 PM, Gint Gaidamas <ly2yr at qrz.lt> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Gint Gaidamas <ly2yr at QRZ.LT>
> Subject:      Slang 'Ham'
>
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>
> Hello,
>
> I have a question if anyone can explain the origin of the sports slang
HAM?
> Why is it written in Capital letters?
> Plese see links:
> Spoting slang
>
http://books.google.lt/books?ei=MZsBT4-CBsjP8gPns53hDw&hl=lt&id=RTdcQOlzjXAC&dq=of+New+York+for+a+second-rate+dude+or+masher%2C+and+more+especially+applied+to+the+habitues+of+the+Rialto+in+that+city.+...&q=ham
>
>
http://books.google.lt/books?ei=R-8BT5u-IJHu8QPqqN3SBA&hl=lt&id=QfBZAAAAMAAJ&dq=ham-fatter++ham+sporting+slang&q=hamfatters+ham
>
> Origin by William H. Nugent
> http://www.unz.org/Pub/AmMercury-1929mar-00329?View=PDF
>
> Slang of the stage
>
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82014381/1881-03-19/ed-1/seq-3/;words=Actors+ham?date1=1870&rows=20&searchType=advanced&proxdistance=5&date2=1885&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=ham+actor&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&index=1
>
> Origin of Ham-fatter
>
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00713FF3C5511738DDDAC0894DB405B8384F0D3&scp=1&sq=ham%20fat%20man&st=cse
>
> Best regards,
> Gint
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



--
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org