hamminess

English

Etymology

hammy +‎ -ness

Noun

hamminess (uncountable)

1. The state of being hammy.
   • 1988 October 21, Lawrence Bommer, “Magnum Farce”, in Chicago Reader‎^[1]:

     The actors carry off this farce with the usual crude camp, semaphore gestures, shameless hamminess, and heavy ogling.

   • 1997 April 11, Albert Williams, “Sunset Boulevard”, in Chicago Reader‎^[2]:

     Linda Balgord brings bug-eyed hamminess and a bothersome vocal wobble to the role of aging actress Norma Desmond, almost completely missing the textured humor, intelligence, and pathos of Gloria Swanson's great screen performance.

   • 2005 February 25, Keith Harris, “Ani DiFranco”, in Chicago Reader‎^[3]:

     The downside to DiFranco's maturation is that showboating can be fun--it's one reason we started paying attention to her in the first place, and why these ruminations will work better when they're integrated into her stage patter, where she can't contain her hamminess.