ham-fistedness
- noun
- /hæmˈfɪstɪdnəs/
- Offensive
:
torpeza
- Critics pointed out the ham-fistedness of the director's treatment of the sensitive subject.
Examples
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The ham-fistedness of his attempt at cooking resulted in a kitchen disaster.
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Her ham-fistedness in handling delicate negotiations only made the situation worse.
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His ham-fistedness in handling delicate situations often led to misunderstandings.
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The artist's ham-fistedness was evident in the rough brush strokes.
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The chef's ham-fistedness in the kitchen led to several broken dishes during the busy service.
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His ham-fistedness when trying to assemble the furniture resulted in a wobbly table.
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With her ham-fistedness at handling delicate materials, she struggled to create a neat art project.
Synonyms
3
3.3
Lack of smooth, graceful movement or behavior that looks awkward
1
7.6
Being too forceful and not subtle in actions or words
Clumsy or awkward way of doing things that causes problems
Antonyms
How Clumsy
Surface Forms
Morphology
ham-fistedness = ham-fisted (semi-transparent) = ham + fist + ed + ness
The noun is transparently formed from the adjective 'ham-fisted' + '-ness', but 'ham-fisted' is an idiomatic compound whose metaphorical connection to clumsiness is not fully predictable from its parts.
Etymology
Ham-fistedness comes from the older phrase ham-fisted, which joins ham (a 'piece of meat') and fist (a 'hand'). Picture someone with big, heavy 'meat hands' — that image helps you remember that ham-fistedness means being clumsy or heavy-handed.