hambone

[ ham-bohn ]

noun

1. Theater.
   1. (especially in minstrel shows and vaudeville) a performer made up in blackface and using a stereotyped Black dialect.
   2. an unskilled, overeager, or artless actor, or any performer who overacts.
2. juba.
3. Bowling Slang. four consecutive strikes.
4. Usually ham bone. a bone in a hog's ham:

   We always use the leftover ham bone to make pea soup.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hambone¹

First recorded in 1850–55; ham ¹ + bone; ham ²

Example Sentences

Robinson, an Ivy League-educated, wealthy businessman, had been locked up since his arrest in 1989 on charges that he hired hit men from Chicago’s El Rukn street gang to kill a boyhood friend of his, Leroy “Hambone” Barber, after the two got into a fistfight in South Carolina, where they both grew up.

From Washington Times

Robinson, an Ivy League-educated, wealthy businessman, had been locked up since his arrest in 1989 on charges that he hired hit men from Chicago’s El Rukn street gang to kill a boyhood friend of his, Leroy “Hambone” Barber, after the two got into a fistfight in South Carolina, where they both grew up.

From Seattle Times

Growing up on a farm in Dry Creek, a small community west of Port Angeles, Haggerty had always been a bit of a “hambone.”

From Seattle Times

If you plunk the hambone into a pot of water with a halved onion and boil it for a couple of hours, you’ll be rewarded with a deep, sultry broth.

From New York Times

But “Hola Amigo,” a 10-track digital album dedicated to bridging cultural divides, also offers standouts like “Keep It Up,” a rock anthem featuring the Sugar Free Allstars, and “Hambone,” which turns that nursery tune into a rapped Black Lives Matter plea.

From New York Times

Related Words

• artist
• character
• clown
• comedian
• entertainer
• performer
• player
• star
• villain