The present participle of 'clod,' meaning to form into clods or lumps, or to break up soil into clumps.
From the verb 'clod' (to form clods) with the present participle suffix '-ing'. The root 'clod' comes from Middle English and Old English, originally referring to lumps of earth formed during plowing or cultivation.
Farmers literally used 'clodding' as a technical term for soil management—the process of breaking earth into workable clumps—but the word became slang for doing anything in a stupid, clumsy way.
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