ham-and-egger

noun

A worthless or undesirable person.

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Meanings

nounham-and-egger (plural ham-and-eggers)

plural ham-and-eggers

  1. derogatoryA worthless or undesirable person.
  2. slanggovernmentA preliminary wrestler; a jobber.
  3. An ordinary person; a simpleton.
  4. boxingA failed boxer; a tomato can.

    Well, it's just that, you see, uh, I fight in clubs, you know, and uh, I'm really a ham-and-egger. This guy, he's the best, and uh, it wouldn't be such a good fight.

    1976 November 21, Rocky, spoken by Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone)

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
stumblebum

Origin

From boxing, where a poor boxer would only win enough money to pay for meals; ham and egg + -er.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

ham-and-egger. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ham-and-egger

MLA

“ham-and-egger.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ham-and-egger. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ham-and-egger,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ham-and-egger.

Source: ham-and-egger on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.