go ham
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɡoʊ ˈhæm/
rhymes: -æm
Forms: form: goes ham
form: going ham
form: went ham
form: gone ham
form: go HAM
form: go H.A.M.
Etymology: Uncertain; the earliest use of the term in the idiomatic sense appears to be in the 2007 song "Go Ham on 'Em" by Soulja Boy (see quotation below), although isolated usage goes back earlier. "Ham" is often thought to be an acronym of "hard as a motherfucker" (with go ham then parsing as go hard as a motherfucker), although this may be a backronym. Alternatively, it could be a phonetic clipping of mayhem. The term was popularized by the 2011 song "H.A.M." by Jay-Z and Kanye West.
Senses: examples: text: If you use her fabric scissors, she's going to go ham on you.
text: Go ham on em Soulja, go ham on 'em
ref: 2007, “Go Ham on 'Em” (0:12 from the start)performed by Soulja Boy:
text: I'm about to go HAM / Hard as a muthafucker, let these niggas know who I am
ref: 2011 August, Jay-Z and Kanye West, “H•A•M”, Watch the Throne, deluxe edition, Roc-A-Fella Records
text: “Clover went in. And she's so calm and gentle normally! I didn't expect her to go ham like that. Will Patricia's arm mend?”
“Not for a while.”
“Serves her right. She went ham on me for no reason.”
Angelo shrugged a shoulder. “She blames you for Marissa's state.”
ref: 2014, Makala Thomas, Count Angelo, page 157:
text: 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, she went 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!”
ref: 2014, Ms. Michel Moore, Coldhearted & Crazy: Say U Promise I:
synonyms: word: flip one's wig
word: flip out
word: freak out
word: get one's freak on
word: go ballistic
word: go bananas
word: go berserk
word: go bonkers
word: go crazy
word: go HAM
word: go H.A.M.
word: go ham
word: go mad
word: go nuts
word: go potty
word: lose it
word: lose one's marbles
word: lose one's mind
word: run amok
word: take leave of one's senses
word: Note: All terms are idiomatic unless stated otherwise.
word: blow a fuse
word: blow a gasket
word: blow one's stack
word: blow one's top
word: crash out
word: cut up nasty
word: cut up rough
word: do one's block
word: do one's nut
word: flip one's lid
word: flip one's wig
word: flip out
word: fly into a rage
word: fly off the handle
word: forget oneself
word: get bent out of shape
word: get one's back up
word: get one's dander up
word: get one's Irish up
word: get one's shirt out
word: go ape
word: go apeshit
word: go ballistic
word: go bananas
word: go bitchcakes
word: go HAM
word: go H.A.M.
word: go ham
word: go off
raw_tags: not idiomatic
word: go postal
word: go spare
word: have a cow
word: have a fit
word: have kittens
word: hit the roof
word: hit the ceiling
word: lose it
word: lose one's cool
word: lose one's marbles
word: lose one's mind
word: lose one's rag
word: lose one's temper
word: lower the boom
word: pitch a fit
word: pop one's cork
word: see red
word: shit a brick
word: steam
word: teen
raw_tags: not idiomatic
word: throw a fit
word: throw one's toys out of the pram
word: vent one's gall
word: wax wode
raw_tags: not idiomatic
glosses: To enter an enraged and uncontrollable state; to go berserk.
examples: text: My costume last Halloween was pretty lame, but this time I'm really going to go ham.
text: I ordered a couple burgers and just went ham on them.
text: My necklace represent the fact I go ham
ref: 2009 May 16, “Say Damn” (0:42 from the start), in Murder Was the Case, performed by Gucci Mane:
text: Nigga I'm the man, I'm the same with the whips / Your baby mama love me, she go ham on the dick
ref: 2009 June 16, “My Niggaz” (1:52 from the start), in Hustle Till I Die, performed by Juicy J:
text: My flats called Harlem darling
Coz the place full of cats
Feds go ham
ref: 2016 September 14, “Splash & Cash”, MizorMac (lyrics), performed by 67 (R6 x ST) & Harlem (Bis x MizzorMac):
synonyms: full send
put one's whole pussy into
glosses: To do something with the maximum possible effort; to go all out.
examples: text: Don't go ham on me. Don't go ham. I'm the whole works, and you know it. I'm just carrying you.
ref: 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:
text: One of the best reasons to go ham is the quiet hi-fi sound of radios used in the two-meter ham band.
ref: 1977 06, Popular Mechanics, page 109:
text: 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.
ref: 1996, The Reader's Digest:
glosses: Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see go, ham.