地道英語
Ham-fisted 笨手笨腳，笨拙
內容簡介
你知道 “ham-fisted” 的意思嗎？“Ham” 的意思是 “火腿”，“fisted” 的意思是 “握成拳頭的”。它倆組成的這個合成詞 “ham-fisted” 在日常生活中很常用，意思和 “笨拙” 有關。聽節目，學習 “ham-fisted” 的用法。
文字稿
（關于臺詞的備注: 請注意這不是廣播節目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能沒有體現錄制、編輯過程中對節目做出的改變。）
Feifei?
大家好，歡迎收聽 BBC英語教學的 “地道英語” 節目。在每期節目中，我們都會介紹一個英語母語人士或講英語流利的人會用到的表達。I'm Feifei and I'm here with Phil. How are you, Phil???
Phil
I would say I'm very well, but I'm actually a bit frustrated.
Feifei?
Oh, no. What's happened??
Phil?
My phone case fell apart – I'm trying to fix it, but I just can't put it back together.?
Feifei?
Oh, you are so ham-fisted, Phil!?
Phil?
Ham-fisted. Well, that's the expression that we're looking at in this programme. 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.?
Feifei?
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??
Phil?
OK, think about it visually. Imagine instead of hands, you just had two big round bits of meat, and then trying to do something. It probably wouldn't work very well. It often has this idea about having strength, but no precision or skill, as if you are hitting things with a big piece of meat. Things get broken, rather than fixed if you're ham-fisted.
Feifei?
Yes, so this expression is all about being clumsy. Are you ham-fisted, Phil??
Phil?
Me? Definitely! When it comes to doing DIY around the house, if I get a hammer, I'm probably going to break something rather than fix it. When I'm cooking, the number of times I cut myself when I'm cutting vegetables, or I drop a plate and it smashes. I think I'm really ham-fisted.?
Feifei?
You certainly sound like you are very ham-fisted! Here are some more examples of the expression 'ham-fisted'.?
Examples?
So, I was drawing yesterday with a pencil, and I broke it 'cos I'm really ham-fisted, and then I borrowed another one from my friend, but I broke that one as well!?
I wanted to learn the piano, but I'm too ham-fisted. I just kept hitting the wrong keys.
Beth brought me a coffee to my desk this morning, but I knocked it on the floor. I'm so ham-fisted.?
Phil?
Feifei, in the examples we've heard, ham-fisted was used to talk about literal, physical clumsiness, but are there other ways of using it?
Feifei?
Yes, it can also be used in a metaphorical way. For example, you can talk about a ham-fisted approach to solving a problem. If an approach is ham-fisted, then it is done without much thought, with no subtlety or nuance.
Phil?
So, a ham-fisted approach to solving a disagreement at work might leave everyone unhappy. It keeps this idea of using force rather than skill.
Feifei?
是的，“ham-fisted” 既可以形容人是 “笨手笨腳的”，也可以比喻在與人打交道的時候做事 “笨拙”。比如：a ham-fisted approach to solving a disagreement at work 的意思就是 “在工作中解決分歧時的笨拙做法”。?
Phil
That's all from us. We'll be back next time with another useful English phrase. See you then.?
Feifei?
Bye-bye.
