hamming
SayHAM-ingUS · UK/ˈhæmɪŋ/AUS/ˈhæːmɪŋ/
- 1Present participle and gerund of ham.
The lead was hamming shamelessly through the death scene, and the audience laughed in all the wrong places.
Hamming it up for the cameras, the senator clutched his chest in mock outrage.
Note
The final m doubles before -ing, as in other short words ending in one vowel and one consonant. The verb behind it is the one for overacting, and it often travels with it up: hamming it up describes anyone playing to an audience, a senator in front of the cameras as readily as an actor on stage.
hamming is a form of ham
ham, verb: To overact, performing with exaggerated displays of emotion. Full entry
- Spelling
- ham → hamming: double the m, add -ing
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