Used to an actor who rants and overacts, and more generally of someone who does anything badly, in a clumsy, amateurish way. ‘You cheap, lousy ham’ is addressed to an actor by a woman in Pleasure Man, by Mae West. Several theories have been...

Ham is the thigh and rump of any animal that is slaughtered for meat, but the term is usually restricted to a cut of pork, the haunch of a pig or boar. Although it can be cooked and served fresh, most ham is cured in some fashion. Ham can either be...