Crossword clues for handsomer
handsomer
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Handsome \Hand"some\ (h[a^]n"s[u^]m; 277), a. [Compar. Handsomer (-[~e]r); superl. Handsomest.] [Hand + -some. It at first meant, dexterous; cf. D. handzaam dexterous, ready, limber, manageable, and E. handy.]
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Dexterous; skillful; handy; ready; convenient; -- applied to things as persons. [Obs.]
That they [engines of war] be both easy to be carried and handsome to be moved and turned about.
--Robynson (Utopia).For a thief it is so handsome as it may seem it was first invented for him.
--Spenser. Agreeable to the eye or to correct taste; having a pleasing appearance or expression; attractive; having symmetry and dignity; comely; -- expressing more than pretty, and less than beautiful; as, a handsome man or woman; a handsome garment, house, tree, horse.
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Suitable or fit in action; marked with propriety and ease; graceful; becoming; appropriate; as, a handsome style, etc.
Easiness and handsome address in writing.
--Felton. -
Evincing a becoming generosity or nobleness of character; liberal; generous.
Handsome is as handsome does.
--Old Proverb. -
Ample; moderately large.
He . . . accumulated a handsome sum of money.
--V. Knox.To do the handsome thing, to act liberally. [Colloq.]
Syn: Handsome, Pretty.
Usage: Pretty applies to things comparatively small, which please by their delicacy and grace; as, a pretty girl, a pretty flower, a pretty cottage. Handsome rises higher, and is applied to objects on a larger scale. We admire what is handsome, we are pleased with what is pretty. The word is connected with hand, and has thus acquired the idea of training, cultivation, symmetry, and proportion, which enters so largely into our conception of handsome. Thus Drayton makes mention of handsome players, meaning those who are well trained; and hence we speak of a man's having a handsome address, which is the result of culture; of a handsome horse or dog, which implies well proportioned limbs; of a handsome face, to which, among other qualities, the idea of proportion and a graceful contour are essential; of a handsome tree, and a handsome house or villa. So, from this idea of proportion or suitableness, we have, with a different application, the expressions, a handsome fortune, a handsome offer.
Wiktionary
a. (context obsolete English) (en-comparative of: handsome)
Usage examples of "handsomer".
A rich strong expressive affection in short pounced upon her in the shape of a handsomer, ampler, older Mrs.
Those that I do know, the gods and goddesses who have been most involved in the fighting at Troy, stand out in the crowd like movie stars at a meeting of minor politicians, but even the least of these gods is taller, stronger, handsomer, and more perfect than any human movie star I remember from my other life.
Now the people passing were suddenly all nude, and certainly the booth made handsomer nudists of them than nature.
He said that instruction would do, and he was not only, younger and handsomer, but he was fresher from the schools than old Harrington, who, even the lady sketchers could see, painted in an obsolescent manner.
I had the portrait in the interior of a gold snuff-box, but I had never shewn it to Esther for fear she should think Manon handsomer than herself, and conclude that I only shewd it her out of vanity.
The younger sister, who was by far the handsomer of the two, afterwards became the wife of Prince Gonzaga Solferino.
In the evening everyone in our circle, being well aware of what had happened, complimented me, and assured me that nothing could be handsomer than my new head-dress.
Blifil, who, besides that he is come of honest parents, and will be one of the greatest squires all hereabouts, he is to be sure, in my poor opinion, a more handsomer and a more politer man by half.
If he were a little handsomer he would sufficiently reproduce for me the Chauncey Depew of the great New England dinner nights of some years ago.
The shiners, pouts, and perch also, and indeed all the fishes which inhabit this pond, are much cleaner, handsomer, and firmer-fleshed than those in the river and most other ponds, as the water is purer, and they can easily be distinguished from them.