Hand Idioms

I write an article now and then, just to keep my hand in.The Cambridge Dictionary had a useful blog post on January 6th 2021 relating to idioms that involved the word hand. Here are examples of the phrases that were described:

• Like all parents, I want to know that my child is in good hands.
  
  
• The new director is widely regarded as a safe pair of hands.
  
  
• We’ve got to do something to calm these kids down or we’re going to have a riot on our hands!
  
  
• Anyway, there’s nothing I can do about the matter now. It’s out of my hands.
  
  
• I thought I might try my hand at baking.
  
  
• Bored with journalism, he’s now hoping to turn his hand to politics.
  
  
• Just think of the suffering that animals endure at the hands of humans.
  
  
• We can’t ask Tom to help out. He’s got his hands full setting up the cafe.
  
  
• I mean, I’ll put my hands up. I’m not always the best at helping around the house.
  
  
• Suddenly, everyone wanted to buy their products and they were making money hand over fist.
  
  
• If you played her at tennis, you’d win hands down! 
  

I'd thought I'd add a few more to the list, not necessarily idioms but also aphorisms and compound words. Here they are:

• 
  The family was so poor that all the younger daughter's clothes were hand-me-downs from her older sister.
  
  
• The extra manpower ensured the project was completed on time. It was a classic case of many hands make light work.
  
  
• The two rivals agreed to discard their swords and engage in hand-to-hand combat.
  
  
• In golf, Ben has a handicap of twenty two.
  
  
• All Saul's business dealings were underhand and shady.
  
  
• This burglary is the handiwork of a professional.
  
  
• He's a real handy-andy when it comes to repairs around the house.
  
  
• "Why, you don't look your age at all!" came Gladys's deliberately back-handed compliment (or left-handed compliment).
  
  
• It's in God's hand now, there nothing we can do.
  
  
• Because of his former hubris, Alex blamed the hand of God for his accident.
  
  
• The family had little money and led a hand to mouth existence most of the time.
  
  
• He was caught with his hand in the till so to speak when discovered rifling through the pockets of coats that were hanging near the entrance to the house.
  
  
• Joe Biden is a hands-on type of guy where young girls are concerned.
  
  
• Life had dealt him a seemingly bad hand and so he was always disgruntled.
  
  
• "Look, hand on heart, I don't know anybody called Gemma", said my boyfriend.
  
  
• The nurse's hand-off at the end of her shift was rather long-winded. It seemed as if she didn't want to leave the ward.
  
  
• The handover of power following Trump's electoral defeat has not gone smoothly.
  
  
• "All assignments must be handed in by Wednesday", said the lecturer.
  
  
• 
  It was interesting to hear a first hand account of what had happened from an eyewitness. 
  
  
• Some of the guests drank too much and suddenly things got out of hand.
  
  
• I got the news second hand from my friend who knows somebody who was there.
  
  
• Information received third hand should not be counted on as reliable.
  
  
• "He wouldn't do anything like that. I know him like the back of my hand", said my friend reassuringly.
  
  
• Do you have anything on hand could serve as a leash for our dog?
  
  
• He was very off-hand in his reply to my question and this annoyed me.
  
  
• Can you give me a hand? I can't lift this by myself.
  
  
• If you want to succeed in politics, you'll have to get your hands dirty.
  
  
• The censorship was rather heavy-handed and there was an inevitable backlash.
  
  
• His wife waited on him hand and foot but he was never appreciative.
  
  
• I've washed my hands of the whole, sordid business.
  
  
• You take your life in your hands when you drive with him.
  
  
• If the police don't do something soon, I'm going to take the law into my own hands.
  
  
• The artefact was made by hand, there was no machining applied at all.
  
  

Pinterest is a good source of visual material illustrating many of these idioms. Figures 1 and 2 show two examples:

Figure 1

Figure 2