Hammed

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. To perform with exaggerated or over-the-top theatrics; to supply or prepare meat from the hind leg of a pig; to communicate or act in an ostentatious, unrestrained manner
2. To deliver an excessively dramatic or flamboyant performance; to provide cured pork meat often served sliced; to behave in a deliberately loud or showy way
3. To act in a way that is excessively theatrical or flamboyant; to process or supply preserved pork from a pig's leg; to express oneself in an affectedly prominent or attention-seeking fashion

Etymology: Long before it described overdone acting, "ham" was a part of the body. It comes from a Proto-Germanic "hammō" meaning the hind part of the knee. Its relatives include Dutch "ham", Icelandic "höm" for a horse's haunch, and Greek "knēmē", meaning shinbone. The theatrical sense is first recorded in print around the 1880s, which makes its origin harder to pin down. One proposal is that it is a clipped form of "amateur", though that leaves open why the clipping appeared so late. The other is a nod to "Hamlet", whose title role was often played in an exaggerated manner. That idea is also considered likely, but if it were right, the term would probably have surfaced earlier, so the origin remains uncertain.

Synonyms: overacted, exaggerated, overplayed, overdid, overemoted

Antonyms: underacted, subdued, restrained, muted, understated