What it means
Ham-fisted means clumsy and lacking all delicacy, as if your hands were great clumsy hams instead of nimble fingers. It describes a fumbling, awkward way of doing something that calls for care, whether it is a botched repair, a tactless conversation or a bungled bit of diplomacy. The image is pure slapstick: big useless fists making a mess of a fiddly job.
Usage examples
"She made a ham-fisted job of wrapping the gift, paper and tape everywhere."
"His ham-fisted attempt at an apology only made the whole thing worse."
"His ham-fisted attempt to wrap the present looked like the paper had lost a fight with the scissors."
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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