Go Ham

What does go ham mean?

Do something intensely

To go ham means to do something passionately and with abandon. You might encounter this phrase while chatting with gamers, interacting with enthusiastic social media users, or texting with your friends. For example, a gamer who is set to wreck several opponents might say they're "about to go ham."

The origins of go ham

Go ham's origins are unclear. Most likely, the phrase is related to other hammy words and sayings, such as hamfisted and hamming it up. All these words and phrases have their origins in the fact that a pig's hams are similar in size to large hands. For example, just as large hands are good for hitting someone over the head with, so is a hamfisted actor's exaggerated, over-the-top delivery.

Some believe the ham in go ham is an acronym, derived from the phrase "hard as a mother****er." However, this phrase is actually a backronym (a phrase constructed from an acronym, rather than the other way around) popularized by the 2011 Jay-Z and Kanye West song "H.A.M."

How to use go ham

You can say you're "about to go ham" or "going ham" anytime you pop off on social media, while playing a video game, or IRL. For example, if you're about to scarf down an entire Little Caesars pepperoni pizza, you could post a picture of the pizza to Twitter with the text "bout to go ham on this pepperoni boy."

Example

Gonna go ham at the gym tomorrow, need to make up for taking a few days off
A use of go ham on Twitter
A use of go ham on Twitter

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Updated August 5, 2022

Go ham definition by Slang.net

This page explains what the slang term "Go ham" means. The definition, example, and related terms listed above have been written and compiled by the Slang.net team.

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