hamfat

English

Etymology

ham +‎ fat

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhamfat/

Noun

hamfat (plural hamfats)

1. (US, slang, offensive, obsolete) A black person.
2. (US, black slang, obsolete) Something average; a mediocre thing or person, especially a jazz musician.
   • 1946, Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow, Bernard Wolfe, “Quit Foolin’ with That Comb”, in Really the Blues, New York, N.Y.: Random House, book 1 (1899–1923: A Nothin’ but a Child), page 49:

     Around the poolroom I defended the guys I felt were my real brothers, the colored musicians who made music that sent me, not a lot of beat-up old hamfats who sang and played a commercial excuse for the real thing.

3. (US slang, acting) A low-grade actor; a ham or hamfatter.