Uncertain; the earliest use of the term in the idiomatic sense appears to be in the 2007 song "Go Ham on 'Em" bySoulja Boy (see quotation below). "Ham" is often thought to be anacronym of "hard as a motherfucker" (withgo ham then parsing asgo hardas a motherfucker), although this may be abackronym.[1] Alternatively, it could be a phoneticclipping ofmayhem.[2] The term was popularized by the 2011 song "H.A.M." byJay-Z andKanye West.
goham (third-person singular simple presentgoes ham,present participlegoing ham,simple pastwent ham,past participlegone ham)
- (intransitive, slang, originally African-American Vernacular, often followed byon) To enter anenraged anduncontrollable state; togo berserk.
- Synonyms:seeThesaurus:go crazy,Thesaurus:lose one's temper
If you use her fabric scissors, she's going togo ham on you.
2007, “Go Ham on 'Em” (0:12 from the start)[2]performed bySoulja Boy:Go ham on em Soulja,go ham on 'em
- 2011 August,Jay-Z andKanye West, “H•A•M”,Watch the Throne, deluxe edition, Roc-A-Fella Records:
- I'm about togo HAM / Hard as a muthafucker, let these niggas know who I am
2014, Makala Thomas,Count Angelo, page157:“Clover wentin. And she's so calm and gentle normally! I didn't expect her togo ham like that. Will Patricia's arm mend?”
“Not for a while.”
“Serves her right. Shewent ham onme for no reason.”
Angelo shrugged a shoulder. “She blames you for Marissa's state.”
2014, Ms. Michel Moore,Coldhearted & Crazy: Say U Promise I:In between the guys in the crowd having to be told what was really good and now Ty acting like he owned her and her hustle, shewent ham. “Main girl?” Kenya finally had enough of his ass. “Nigga, what? Please don't coach mines. You got me all fucked up in the game. Fall back and don't play yourself!”
- (intransitive, slang, originally African-American Vernacular, often followed byon) To do something with the maximum possibleeffort; togo all out.
- Synonyms:full send,put one's whole pussy into
My constume last Halloween was pretty lame, but this time I'm really going togo ham.
I ordered a couple burgers and justwent ham on them.
2009 June 16, “My Niggaz” (1:52 from the start), inHustle Till I Die[4], performed byJuicy J:Nigga I'm the man, I'm the same with the whips / Your baby mama love me, shego ham on the dick
2016 September 14, “Splash & Cash”, MizorMac (lyrics), performed by 67 (R6 x ST) & Harlem (Bis x MizzorMac):My flats called Harlem darling
Coz the place full of cats
Fedsgo ham
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically:seego,ham.
1933, Ben Hecht, Gene Fowler,The Great Magoo: A Love-sick Charade in Three Acts and Something Like Eight Scenes, Recounting the Didoes of Two Young and Amorous Souls, who Nigh Perished when They Weren't in the Hay Together:Don'tgo ham on me. Don'tgo ham. I'm the whole works, and you know it. I'm just carrying you.
197706,Popular Mechanics, page109:One of the best reasons togo ham is the quiet hi-fi sound of radios used in the two-meter ham band.
1996,The Reader's Digest:Go ham for the holidays! Serve Cure 81® for a special dinner, then try these delicious ways to stretch the extra ham and feed a bunch for brunch, lunch or dinner.
- ^Cody Kapocsi (2018 August 28) “The Origin of "Going Ham" or Why You Aren't Going Ham”, inFrom the Holocron[1], archived fromthe original on2023-09-25: “Consequently, the definition of going ham predates "hard as a m*." ¶ Which means that we probably have a backronym on our hands.”
- ^“go ham on em'”, inUrban Dictionary, launched 1999.
