indict a ham sandwich
Of a grand jury: to charge a person with a crime, despite a perceived lack of evidence.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The prosecutor could indict a ham sandwich if he really wanted to.”
“Some people believe a powerful prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich.”
“The grand jury is so weak they might indict a ham sandwich today.”
“Critics argue that the local grand jury is so compliant that they would indict a ham sandwich if the district attorney asked them to.”
“Lawyers often joke about the system's flaws, saying a grand jury follows the prosecutor so blindly they would even indict a ham sandwich.”
“The legal system faces intense scrutiny when observers claim that a biased prosecutor possesses enough influence to indict a ham sandwich before a grand jury.”
first recorded 20th c. disputed origin
Possibly alluding to ham sandwich (“something utterly commonplace, of modest value”). The term was popularized by the American jurist Sol Wachtler (born 1930) who used it in 1985 shortly after his appointment as Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals when expressing the view that the use of grand juries to bring indictments should be abolished: see the 1985 quotation.
- 01
air sandwich
A strategy that has high-level direction and low-level operations, but little in the middle.
- 02
bite of the reality sandwich
A wake-up call, a reality check.
- 03
few sandwiches short of a picnic
Exhibiting disquiet or unsoundness of mind; not sane; mad.
- 04
ham it up
To deliberately exaggerate one's emotions or movements, or to overact or act hammily.
- 05
shit sandwich
Something highly undesirable that is rendered more acceptable or palatable by the addition of more tolerable or agreeable components.
- 06
soup sandwich
Someone or something that is disorganized, incompetent, fundamentally flawed or unfinished.
Last updated August 10, 2026