I'm sure it has some origin from long ago, but I have no idea what that could be...
2006-10-26 12:06:56 · 4 answers · asked by Matt S 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Quotations
The English Cockneys have a tendency to put an "H" sound in front of words which begin with a vowel sound. "Ham" is short for amateur. A beginning actor often overplays his part. The actor is referred to as a Ham and his performance as Hammy. People who deliberately overplay for humor are referred to as "Hamming it up." By the way, this is also why an amateur radio operator is often referred to as a ham operator. The tendency of the Cockneys to begin some words with a non-existant "H" made its way long ago into the Appalachian south of the United States. Anybody who has lived in this region (I currently reside in West Virginia) has heard uneducated people say "Hit" instead of "It" as in, "Hit's a nice day."
2006-10-26 13:47:20 · answer #1 · answered by Jim R 2 · 24⤊ 6⤋
I think its origin is from the Cockney (English) slang 'hamateur,' for amateur actor. The word was then used in the phrase to describe an individual who is acting in an over-the-top fashion
2006-10-26 19:28:08 · answer #2 · answered by Born a Fox 4 · 5⤊ 2⤋
A vegan poetry group coined it.
2006-10-26 19:09:16 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 4⤋
Somebody trying to relieve themself !
2006-10-26 20:16:22 · answer #4 · answered by Swamp T 3 · 0⤊ 5⤋