Hamfatter

/ˈhæmfætər/ noun

Definition

A person who is a hamfat; an amateurish, ham-fisted actor who overacts or performs badly.

Etymology

From 'hamfat' with the agent suffix '-er,' creating a noun for the person who embodies this quality, originating in 19th-century American theatrical slang.

Kelly Says

Traveling theatrical troupes in the 1800s used 'hamfatter' as a term of professional contempt—the irony is that many now-famous actors probably played tiny roles in bad shows and would have been called hamfatters in their early careers!

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