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

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

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

[hammer out]{v.} 1. To write or produce by hard work. •/The President sat at his desk till midnight hammering out his speech for the next day./ 2. To remove, change, or work out by discussion and debate; debate and agree on (something). •/Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Green have hammered out their difference of opinion./ •/The club members have hammered out an agreement between 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 THE HAND 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, HANG HEAVY or HANG HEAVY ON ONE’S HANDS, HAT IN HAND, HAVE A HAND IN, HAVE ONE’S HANDS FULL, HEAVY-HANDED, IN HAND, JOIN FORCES or JOIN HANDS, KEEP ONE’S HAND IN, 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’S RIGHT HAND IS DOING, LIFT A FINGER or LIFT A HAND also RAISE A HAND, LIVE FROM HAND TO MOUTH, MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK, OFF ONE’S HANDS, ON HAND, ON ONE’S HANDS, ON THE OTHER HAND, OUT OF HAND, PLAY INTO ONE’S HANDS, PUT ONE’S HAND TO or SET ONE’S HAND TO or TURN ONE’S HAND TO, PUT ONE’S HAND TO THE PLOW, ROB THE TILL or HAVE ONE’S HAND IN THE TILL, SECTION HAND, SIT ON ONE’S HANDS, TAKE ONE’S LIFE IN ONE’S HANDS, TAKE THE LAW INTO ONE’S OWN HANDS, THROW UP ONE’S HANDS, THROW UP ONE’S HANDS IN HORROR, TIE ONE’S HANDS, TRY ONE’S HAND, UPPER HAND or WHIP HAND, WASH ONE’S HANDS OF.

[hand and foot]{adv. phr.} 1. So that the hands and feet cannot be used. — Used with "bind" or a synonym. •/The robbers bound him hand and foot and left him on the floor./ 2. So that no tree action is possible. — Used with "bind" or a synonym. •/If Mr. Jones signs that paper, he will be bound hand 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 will have his father’s gold watch because it is handed down in the family./ •/In old times, property was usually handed down to the oldest son at his father’s death./ Compare: PASS ON.

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

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

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

[hand it to]{v. phr.}, {informal} To admit the excellence of; give credit or praise to. •/You have to hand it to Jim; he is very careful and hard-working in all he does./ •/The teacher said, "I hand it to Jane for the 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 used before your name. •/Jim’s father has a handle to his name. He is Major Watson./ •/Bob came back from the University with a handle to his name and was called Dr. Jones./

[handle with gloves] or [handle with kid gloves] {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To treat very gently and carefully. •/An atomic bomb is handled 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 another person has no more use for it; especially, used clothing. •/Alice had four older sisters, so all her clothes were hand-me-downs./

[hand off]{v.} To hand the football to another back. •/The quarterback 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 hand it on./ •/In the early days, news was handed on from one person to another./

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

[hand out]{v.}, {informal} To give (things of the same kind) to several people. •/The teacher handed out the examination papers./ •/At the 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) to another person. •/When the teacher saw Johnny reading a comic book in study period, she made him hand over the book./ •/When Mr. Jones gets old, he will hand over his business to his son./ Syn.: FORK OVER, GIVE UP(1), TURN OVER(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 hand over fist./ •/Business is so bad that the store on the corner is losing money hand over fist./

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

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

[hands-down]{adj.}, {informal} 1. Easy. •/The Rangers won a hands-down victory in the tournament./ 2. Unopposed; first; clear. •/Johnny was 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 on the team./

[hands off]{informal} Keep your hands off or do not interfere; leave that alone. — Used as a command. •/I was going to touch the machine, but the man 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 a hands-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 and generously 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.