[hammer] See: GO AT IT HAMMER AND TONGS, UNDER THE HAMMER.

[hammer and tongs]{adv. phr.} Violently. •/Mr. and Mrs. Smith havebeen at it all day, hammer and tongs./

[hammer at] or [hammer away at] {v.} 1. To work steadily at; keepat. •/That lesson is not easy, but hammer away at it and you will get itright./ 2. To talk about again and again; emphasize. •/The speaker hammeredat his opponent’s ideas./

[hammer out]{v.} 1. To write or produce by hard work. •/ThePresident sat at his desk till midnight hammering out his speech for the nextday./ 2. To remove, change, or work out by discussion and debate; debate andagree on (something). •/Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Green have hammered out theirdifference of opinion./ •/The club members have hammered out an agreementbetween the two groups./ Compare: IRON OUT.

[Hancock] See: JOHN HANCOCK or JOHN HENRY.

[hand] See: AT HAND, BIRD IN THE HAND IS WORTH TWO IN THE BUSH, BITE THEHAND THAT FEEDS ONE, CLEAN HANDS, DIRTY ONE’S HANDS, EAT OUT OF ONE’S HAND,FORCE ONE’S HAND, FREE HAND, FROM HAND TO HAND, GLAD HAND, HAM-HANDED, HANGHEAVY or HANG HEAVY ON ONE’S HANDS, HAT IN HAND, HAVE A HAND IN, HAVE ONE’SHANDS FULL, HEAVY-HANDED, IN HAND, JOIN FORCES or JOIN HANDS, KEEP ONE’S HANDIN, LAY HANDS ON, LAY ONE’S HANDS ON or GET ONE’S HAND ON or PUT ONE’S HAND ON,LEND A HAND or GIVE A HAND or BEAR A HAND, LET ONE’S LEFT HAND KNOW WHAT ONE’SRIGHT HAND IS DOING, LIFT A FINGER or LIFT A HAND also RAISE A HAND, LIVE FROMHAND TO MOUTH, MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK, OFF ONE’S HANDS, ON HAND, ON ONE’SHANDS, ON THE OTHER HAND, OUT OF HAND, PLAY INTO ONE’S HANDS, PUT ONE’S HAND TOor SET ONE’S HAND TO or TURN ONE’S HAND TO, PUT ONE’S HAND TO THE PLOW, ROB THETILL or HAVE ONE’S HAND IN THE TILL, SECTION HAND, SIT ON ONE’S HANDS, TAKEONE’S LIFE IN ONE’S HANDS, TAKE THE LAW INTO ONE’S OWN HANDS, THROW UP ONE’SHANDS, THROW UP ONE’S HANDS IN HORROR, TIE ONE’S HANDS, TRY ONE’S HAND, UPPERHAND or WHIP HAND, WASH ONE’S HANDS OF.

[hand and foot]{adv. phr.} 1. So that the hands and feet cannot beused. — Used with "bind" or a synonym. •/The robbers bound him hand and footand left him on the floor./ 2. So that no tree action is possible. — Usedwith "bind" or a synonym. •/If Mr. Jones signs that paper, he will be boundhand and foot./ 3. See: WAIT ON HAND AND FOOT.

[hand and glove] See: HAND IN GLOVE.

[hand down]{v.} To arrange to give or leave after, death. •/Joe willhave his father’s gold watch because it is handed down in the family./ •/Inold times, property was usually handed down to the oldest son at his father’sdeath./ Compare: PASS ON.

[hand in] See: TURN IN(1).

[hand in glove] or [hand and glove] {adj.} or {adv. phr.} Veryclose or friendly; working together; in very close agreement or cooperation,especially for bad purposes. •/The Navy and the Coast Guard work hand andglove, especially in war time./ •/Judges and others in high officesometimes are hand in glove with gangsters to cheat and steal./

[hand in hand]{adv. phr.} 1. Holding hands. •/Bob and Mary walkedalong hand in hand in the park./ Compare: ARM IN ARM. 2. Accompanying eachother; together; closely connected. — Used with "go". •/Ignorance andpoverty often go hand in hand./ •/Selfishness and unhappiness often go handin hand./

[hand it to]{v. phr.}, {informal} To admit the excellence of; givecredit or praise to. •/You have to hand it to Jim; he is very careful andhard-working in all he does./ •/The teacher said, "I hand it to Jane forthe way she managed the Music Club."/ Syn.: TAKE OFF ONE’S HAT TO.

[handle] See: FLY OFF THE HANDLE.

[handle to one’s name]{n. phr.}, {slang} A special title usedbefore your name. •/Jim’s father has a handle to his name. He is MajorWatson./ •/Bob came back from the University with a handle to his name andwas called Dr. Jones./

[handle with gloves] or [handle with kid gloves] {v. phr.},{informal} 1. To treat very gently and carefully. •/An atomic bomb ishandled with kid gloves./ 2. To treat with great tact and diplomacy.•/Aunt Jane is so irritable that we have to treat her with kid gloves./

[hand-me-down]{n.}, {informal} Something given away after anotherperson has no more use for it; especially, used clothing. •/Alice had fourolder sisters, so all her clothes were hand-me-downs./

[hand off]{v.} To hand the football to another back. •/Thequarterback faked to the fullback and handed off to the halfback./

[hand on]{v.} To pass along to the next person who should have it.•/Everyone in class should read this, so when you have finished, please handit on./ •/In the early days, news was handed on from one person toanother./

[handout]{n.} 1. A free gift of food, clothes, etc. •/The homelesspeople were standing in a long line for various handouts./ 2. A typed andphotocopied sheet or sheets of paper outlining the main points made by aspeaker. •/Please look at page three of the handout./

[hand out]{v.}, {informal} To give (things of the same kind) toseveral people. •/The teacher handed out the examination papers./ •/Atthe Christmas party Santa Claus handed out the presents under the tree./•/Handing out free advice to all your friends will not make them like you./Compare: GIVE OUT(3).

[hand over]{v.} To give control or possession of; give (something) toanother person. •/When the teacher saw Johnny reading a comic book in studyperiod, she made him hand over the book./ •/When Mr. Jones gets old, hewill hand over his business to his son./ Syn.: FORK OVER, GIVE UP(1), TURNOVER(3).

[hand over fist]{adv. phr.}, {informal} Fast and in large amounts.•/Fred may get a pony for Christmas because his father is making money handover fist./ •/Business is so bad that the store on the corner is losingmoney hand over fist./

[hand over hand]{adv. phr.} By taking hold with one hand over theother alternately. •/The only way to climb a rope is hand over hand./

[hand-pick]{v.}, {informal} To choose very carefully. •/Thisdebating team should win because its members are all hand-picked./ •/Thepolitical bosses hand-picked a man for mayor who would agree with them./

[hands-down]{adj.}, {informal} 1. Easy. •/The Rangers won ahands-down victory in the tournament./ 2. Unopposed; first; clear. •/Johnnywas the hands-down favorite for president of the class./

[hands down]{adv.}, {informal} 1. Without working hard; easily.•/The Rangers won the game hands down./ 2. Without question or doubt;without any opposition; plainly. •/Johnny was bands down the best player onthe team./

[hands off]{informal} Keep your hands off or do not interfere; leavethat alone. — Used as a command. •/I was going to touch the machine, but theman cried, "Hands off!" and I let it alone./

[hands-off]{adj.}, {informal} Leaving alone, not interfering;inactive. •/The United States told the European governments to follow ahands-off policy toward Latin America./ •/I did not approve of his actions,but I have a hands-off rule in personal matters, so I said nothing./

[handsome is as handsome does]{informal} A person must act well andgenerously so that he will be truly worth respecting. — A proverb.•/Everyone thinks that Bon is a very handsome boy, but he is very mean too.Handsome is as handsome does./ Compare: FINE FEATHERS DO NOT MAKE PINE BIRDS.