hamfat

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English

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Etymology

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From ham +‎ fat.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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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.