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Topic: Hamming it up

A fellow attending a workshop on the telling of Hasidic tales was warned not to ham up the presentation. Our correspondent knew an exaggerated, showy performance wouldn’t be kosher, but what he didn’t know was if or how playful piglets came to be associated with overacting a part.

In fact, the ham in hamming it up—the ham that means "overact"—has nothing to do with porcine behavior. Nor does it have anything to do with an egregiously overacted role of Hamlet, nor does it originate in a onetime practice of actors removing greasepaint with ham fat.

However, this latter theory has a glimmer of truth in it. Ham comes not from piggies but from the fat of pigs. Specifically, the 1863 minstrel song The Ham-Fat Man includes lyrics about a fellow who either overacted or who was not an especially competent actor. The Ham-Fat Man begat the hamfatter, meaning “an unskillful but flamboyant performer." That sense synonymous with exhibitionist or strutter was shortened to ham, naming an “inept or ineffective actor, especially in an overtheatrical style."

So what are the lyrics to the original Ham-Fat Man? Believe it or not, we don’t have them, but we promise enthusiastic, exaggerated squeals of glee if and when we find them.

Questions or comments? Write us at wftw@aol.com Production and research support for Word for the Wise comes from Merriam-Webster, publisher of language reference books and Web sites including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.