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Hello, and welcome to the English we speak, where we explain phrases used by fluent english speakers so that you can use them too.
I'm fei fei, and I'm here with Phil.
How are you, Phil?
I would say I'm very well, but I'm a bit frustrated, actually.
Oh, no.
What's happened?
My phone case fell apart.
I'm trying to fix it, but I just can't put it back together.
Oh, you are so ham fisted, Phil.
Ham fisted.
Well, that's the expression that we're looking at in this program, the adjective ham fisted, which is all about being clumsy.
Now, it might help if we start by looking at what a fist and a ham literally are.
Yes, your fist is when you close your hand and put your fingers together in a ball.
It's what boxers use to hit each other.
A ham is a big, round bit of pork, usually cooked.
For example, I often use it to make a sandwich.
But in the expression ham fisted, what has ham got to do with someone's fist?
Okay, think about it visually.
Imagine instead of hams, you just had two big, round bits of meat and then trying to do something.
It probably wouldn't work very well.