Ham-fisted

//ˈhæmˌfɪstɪd// adj, slang

adj, slang ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Lacking skill in physical movement with the hands; clumsy. informal

    ""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. 2
    Lacking skill in general; incompetent. broadly, informal

    "[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."

Adjective
  1. 1
    lacking physical movement skills, especially with the hands wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
ham-handedall thumbsamateurishawkwardbackwardsbad

Example

More examples

"He made many ham-fisted references to his favorite science fiction novels in hopes someone would recognize them."

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.

Related phrases

ham-fistedlyham-fistedness

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.