I.nounCOLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
an ordeal at the hands of sb (=used to say who has made someone go through something painful or difficult)
▪ She has only just revealed her ordeal at the hands of her stepfather.
ask for sb’s hand in marriageold-fashioned (= ask someone to marry you, or ask their parents for permission to marry)
▪ He asked my father for my hand in marriage.
be caught with your hands/fingers in the till (=to be caught stealing from your employer)
beat sb hands down (=beat someone very easily)
▪ He should be able to beat them all hands down.
calloused hands
▪ rough calloused hands
charge hand
clapped...hand over
▪ ‘Mick!’ She clapped her hand over her mouth. ‘I’d forgotten!’
clasp sb/sth in your hands/arms
▪ She clasped the photograph in her hands.
clasp your hands/arms around/behind sth
▪ Fenella leaned forward, clasping her hands around her knees.
clean hands
▪ Make sure you have clean hands before you eat.
close at hand (=very near)
▪ A variety of good restaurants are close at hand.
dismiss sth out of hand (=immediately, without thinking about it)
▪ It's an interesting idea so don't dismiss it out of hand.
dried...hands
▪ Mary dried her hands.
extended...hand (=offered to shake hands)
▪ George extended his hand.
fall into the wrong hands
▪ We must not let these documents fall into the wrong hands.
free hand
▪ He used his free hand to open the door.
get/buy sth second hand
▪ We got most of our furniture second hand.
give in/hand in an essay
▪ Half the class failed to hand in their essay on time.
give sb a big hand (=clap loudly)
give/lend/offer etc sb a helping hand
▪ She’s been giving me a helping hand with the children.
glove/hand/finger puppet
hand baggage (=a bag you are allowed to carry with you onto a plane)
▪ You are only allowed one item of hand baggage on the plane.
hand grenade
hand in your homework (=give homework you have done to your teacher)
▪ He always hands his homework in on time.
hand in your homework (=give it to the teacher)
▪ You must hand in your homework by Friday.
hand in your resignation (=say that you are going to leave an organization)
▪ I'm thinking of handing in my resignation.
hand job
hand luggage
hand out punishments (=give people punishments)
▪ The courts are handing out harsher punishments to reckless drivers.
hand sth down from generation to generation
▪ Native Australians hand down stories and songs from generation to generation.
hand tool
hand towel
hand/foot pump (=operated by your hand or foot)
hand/pass/give/send out a leaflet
▪ Students were handing out election leaflets at the station.
hands clasped...together
▪ She stood with her hands clasped tightly together.
hands down (=very easily or by a large amount)
▪ Everyone expected Sam to win hands down.
heard...second hand
▪ It may not be true – I only heard it second hand.
held out...hand
▪ He held out his hand to help her to her feet.
hired hand
hold hands (=hold each other’s hands)
▪ They sat holding hands under a tree.
hold sth in your hand/arms
▪ He was holding a knife in one hand.
▪ I held the baby in my arms.
hour hand
impose/hand down a sentence (=officially give someone a sentence)
▪ The judge imposed a three-year sentence.
in the hands of the receivers
▪ The business is in the hands of the receivers.
in the palm of his hand
▪ He held the pebble in the palm of his hand.
keep your mind on the job/task in/at hand
▪ Making notes is the best way of keeping your mind on the task at hand.
killed...with his bare hands
▪ He had killed a man with his bare hands.
know...like the back of my hand (=I know it very well)
▪ I grew up here; I know the place like the back of my hand.
lift your hand/arm/leg etc
▪ She lifted her hand to knock on the door once again.
▪ Pam lifted her shoulders in a little shrug.
minute hand
need a firm hand
▪ These children need a firm hand.
offer/extend the hand of friendship (=officially say that you want a friendly relationship)
▪ America extended the hand of friendship, but it was rejected.
outstretched arms/hands/fingers
▪ She ran to meet them with outstretched arms.
pair of hands/eyes/legs etc
▪ She felt as if every pair of eyes in the room was on her.
passed into the hands of
▪ Control of these services has now passed into the hands of the local authorities.
Raise...hand
▪ Raise your hand if you know the right answer.
rubbed...hands together
▪ He rubbed his hands together with embarrassment.
rubbing...hands with glee
▪ Manufacturers are rubbing their hands with glee as they prepare to cash in.
second hand
▪ We got most of our furniture second hand.
second hand
show of hands
▪ The dispute was settled with a show of hands.
sleight of hand
strengthen sb's hand (=make them more powerful)
▪ The controversy has strengthened the hand of her critics.
take your life in your hands (=put yourself in a dangerous situation)
▪ Just crossing this road is taking your life in your hands.
the hand brake (also the emergency brake the parking brake American English) (= one you apply with your hand, to stop the car moving when parked)
▪ I tried to drive off with the hand brake still on.
the hands of/on a clock (=the long thin pieces that point at the numbers)
▪ The hands on the clock said ten past two.
the matter at hand (also the matter in hand British English) (= the thing you are dealing with now)
▪ Do not let yourself be distracted from the matter in hand.
tie sb’s hands/arms/legs/feet
▪ One of them tied her hands behind her back.
wandering hands
▪ Be careful, he’s got wandering hands.
with your hands in your pockets
▪ I saw him wandering along the beach with his hands in his pockets.
your fate is in sb’s hands (=someone will decide what happens to you)
▪ His fate is now in the hands of the judge.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
free
▪ In return for a freer hand in the currency market private dealers were expected to play a more active role in industrial investment.
▪ He loosened his tie with his free hand.
▪ Mrs Sweet reached her free hand down to his flies.
▪ Lucia started backing up her books with a free hand.
▪ Then Sir Alfred pulled in in his Bentley and promised me a free hand to design a car that worked.
▪ Get a free hand to change work rules.
▪ Ruth shook her head and then with her free hand scooped her hair back from her face.
▪ It turns them on and gives them a free hand to be as obnoxious as they want.
left
▪ Isabel raised her left hand and peered at the ring in the dim light cast by the clock-candle burning near the bed.
▪ It was worn on the left hand, so as not to hinder sword play.
▪ He stood in the doorway holding the thirty-eight in his right hand, with his left hand grasping his right wrist.
▪ The Blairites' right hand seems not to know-dares not find out-what its left hand is doing.
▪ Repeat the exercise, then do the same for the left hand.
▪ She wore a leather mitten on her left hand while her right was bare.
▪ But during batting practice a line drive slammed off his left hand, and he had to be scratched.
other
▪ On the other hand specialists could thrive.
▪ On the other hand sentiment is changing the way in which hostile takeovers are regarded.
▪ Lawyers, on the other hand, often call for changing even settled practice in midgame.
▪ Rheme position, on the other hand, is prominent on an overall discourse level.
▪ Group B, on the other hand, seems a little anomalous.
▪ On the other hand the public would want inspectors to be independent of the school being inspected.
▪ If on the other hand they wished him to go, he should be told immediately so that the could leave quietly.
▪ On the other hand, the lesser light-grasp is not really important for most kinds of viewing.
right
▪ Morenz used his right hand to bring out his passport.
▪ He insisted there was some-thing about his right hand-the hand that delivered the knockout punch-that was strange.
▪ Gritting his teeth against the pain, he made a grab with his right hand and ripped the knife from its sheath.
▪ Edney holds the ball with his right hand and uses his left shoulder for protection.
▪ Without warning his right hand swiped in retaliation at her mouth, splitting her lip.
▪ There will be a little clock in the lower right hand corner that will tick down.
▪ Pausing at the door he turned once more and extended the middle finger of his right hand towards the bed.
strong
▪ During his election campaign Demirel had spoken of the need for a strong hand in dealing with Kurdish guerrillas.
▪ No more to trouble earth or the sea waters With their strong hands, Laboring for the food that does not satisfy.
▪ His strong hand cupped her fist and held it.
▪ Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back?
▪ A strong hand, long-fingered, brown.
▪ If he bids high, is he bluffing, or does he actually hold a strong hand?
▪ At first Dinah had smacked her hard on the bare bottom with her thin strong hand.
upper
▪ Now White gains the upper hand.
▪ Once your groin gets the upper hand, you lose the ability to reason.
▪ My son usually has the upper hand because he's older.
▪ In the South, the right-wing Rhee supporters clearly had the upper hand.
▪ For a fleeting second she allowed herself to revel in the unaccustomed feeling of having the upper hand over him.
▪ It was a curious shell game in which each side thought it had the upper hand.
▪ And the loss of a fight in which greens seemed to have the upper hand is hard to take.
■ NOUN
side
▪ Left or right hand side zip available.
▪ You will find the camera button located close to the hand-grip on the right hand side of the body.
▪ Each pilot had a separate door on the right hand side, off a wing walk.
▪ In a formal display the left and right hand side are exactly the same.
▪ It shows the length of the factory with the Design Studio on the right hand side.
▪ Sidebar a vertical bar positioned usually on the right hand side of the screen.
▪ Trouble too on lower panel, right hand side, he wrote.
▪ Take a clean sheet of paper and use only the left hand side.
■ VERB
change
▪ It is unclear whether it has recently changed hands.
▪ More than 3 million shares changed hands, more than 14 times the six-month average of 204, 524 shares.
▪ We've each had our hot streaks, I won't deny: the whammy has changed hands many times.
▪ In 1989, after several years of lagging profits, Lechmere changed hands as a result of a management-led leveraged buyout.
▪ Ecstasy tablets now change hands for £20 a time.
▪ Some 68. 33 million shares changed hands.
▪ The price at which tenancies change hands is currently within the range £115,000 to £155,000.
▪ No money changed hands, he said.
clap
▪ Paul claps his hand to his head three or four times.
▪ They were just slowly crawling around. l clapped my hands over them.
▪ He wanted to clap his hands to the music, but didn't.
▪ Dad clapped his hands over his cheeks when the thunderbolt struck.
▪ Every morning when we got to school we were allowed to play until Mrs Donnan stood outside and clapped her hands.
▪ There was a terrific amount of noise and laughter and the clapping of hands.
▪ The Night Superintendent clapped her hands for silence.
▪ The Times Squares clap their hands, change partners, and do-si-do.
clasp
▪ Susan clasped her hands because she was trembling, but the tension in her locked fingers only made her shake the more.
▪ Fontaine clasped his hands in his lap.
▪ The carer then asks the patient to clasp his hands together, and helps him to do this.
▪ The judge sat down and clasped his hands.
▪ Magrat clasped her hands together and looked down, biting her knuckles.
▪ The president straightened the ribbons, clasped his hands and appeared to pray.
▪ The Scarabae clasped their hands, pleased.
▪ He switched channels with the remote, clasped his hands behind his head.
cup
▪ Trying by cupping his hand over the clasps to avoid the penetrating clicks of opening, George lifted the lid.
▪ She stood with the table crumbs cupped in one hand.
▪ He then shuffled around the room cupping his hand around the chimneys and blowing out one lamp after another.
▪ The 75, 000 football fans crammed into the cupped hands of Sun Devil Stadium.
▪ Grainne took the hot fragrant wine gratefully, and cupped her hands about the goblet for warmth.
▪ He cupped his hand over his thing as if it were a flame that might blow out.
▪ Then she cupped her hands around Jack's face and gently pulled him to his feet.
▪ All stood anxiously waiting with camp cups in hand.
extend
▪ Recovering quickly, he smiled in return and extended his hand.
▪ Father Tim extended his hands and indicated a small distance between them.
▪ Cornelius paused a moment to extend his right hand.
▪ He wore a yellow-brown silk cloak with cotton trim; his sleeves were long, extending over his hands.
▪ As Jess passes by Jody, the coach extends her hand to be slapped.
▪ Marie extended her hand graciously, inclined her head, thanked me.
▪ She extends her hand and they shake.
fall
▪ Primo reaches for his wallet, lets it fall open in his hand and slips out a five.
▪ Such colour as there was drained from her face, and what was left of the biscuit fell from her hand.
▪ Pentagon officials say they have already had some success reducing the risk that nuclear materials will fall into the wrong hands.
▪ The revolver nearly fell from my hands, and my whole body froze with fear.
▪ He lurched sideways and fell to his hands and knees on the stone steps.
▪ Everything falls neatly to hand, and all switches and indicators are clearly marked.
▪ Menelaus drew his sword, his only weapon now, but as he did so it fell from his hand broken.
hold
▪ He hadn't given her flowers, or held her hand in the cinema or left meaningful messages on her answerphone.
▪ He held her hand tightly and led her across the street.
▪ After being counted one more time, still holding Elizabeth's hand I followed the crocodile miserably through darkened rooms.
▪ He longed to be holding one in his hands.
▪ Arlene held out her hand for him, stretched it flat, from fingertip to elbow, against the tabletop.
▪ Lucker holds my hand with the kind of grasp that men at sea learn as a last resort.
▪ Condrey said he was still holding Higgins' hand when they walked into the water, fully clothed.
keep
▪ An ambulance was kept at hand.
▪ Several blocks of the same size are kept on hand to represent buildings.
▪ And keep your hands off Maria.
▪ Since she left City Hall, Zimmerman has kept a hand in politics.
▪ He moved slowly and cautiously, and kept his hands in clear view.
▪ He kept his hand on Hughes's sleeve.
▪ Always keep hand cream available in kitchen and bathroom and rub it in frequently.
▪ Like those people who keep washing their hands over and over.
lay
▪ I laid a hand on his hair.
▪ Stuyvesant responded by laying hands on To bias Feake, who delivered the document, arresting and eventually banishing him.
▪ He lay stiff on her hand, small, cold and useless.
▪ He was driven finally into telling her that he would lay hands upon her if she did not stop talking.
▪ Terran employees who still had the faculty of independent mobility fled, understandably, with everything they could lay their hands on.
▪ I lay a hand on his chest and felt him breathe, mile after mile through the Kentucky night.
▪ The baby was kicking, at night Alan lay with his hand on her side and felt the repeated thrusting movements.
▪ The court officers tell me they can lay their hands on a block of tickets.
lift
▪ He used to lift his hands high off the keyboard, which was my first lesson in the value of showmanship.
▪ I lift my hand and watch a melted blade of light move across my flesh.
▪ I lifted my hand and, acknowledging my recognition of him, I smiled.
▪ When the shrieks of his gang became too much, he lifted his hand and his face took on a furious look.
▪ She went to the door of the room Alice had been in, and lifted her hand as if to knock.
▪ I did not frighten her further by going over to her but lifted my hand and continued on my way.
▪ It was opened almost before Howarth had lifted his hand to ring.
▪ I lift my hand to direct him to the landing, and just like that it hits me.
pass
▪ The dew vanished from the flowers; they began to lose their freshness and to wilt, passing from hand to hand.
▪ She was passed from hand to hand.
▪ He passed his hands through his hair, clutching the wheel silently, dashboard dials glowing.
▪ On impulse, he reached out and passed his hand through the vapour.
▪ She brought him his sandwich and soda, placing it down like a mommy, passing a hand through his wet hair.
▪ But from that day, too, events began to pass out of their hands.
▪ Coins, jewelry, postage stamps, a Matisse litho, all passed through my hands.
place
▪ Her affairs were placed in the hands of the Court of Protection, which appointed Mrs B receiver.
▪ She placed a small delicate hand on it and bade Miriam good-night.
▪ Rising slowly to his feet, he placed both hands on the table and leaned forward to face Jonadab.
▪ I placed my hand among the grey curlicues of Hugh's fallen chest.
▪ As she placed her hands trustingly in his, he moved out of the strong light and she saw his face.
▪ He placed his free hand tentatively on the soft flesh.
▪ Standing with your feet together, place your left hand on your stomach.
▪ And then, with no less care than command, I placed his hand on the front of my trousers.
press
▪ Remembering the cup in her pocket, she pressed her hand over the flap to hide it.
▪ He tried to force her voice lower by keeping his soft and pressing his hands downward.
▪ She pressed a hand to her bosom to try to still the wild fluttering of her heart.
▪ Several parishioners had pressed envelopes into his hand.
▪ Keeping the body rigid, press with the hands until the arms are straight.
▪ Yes, the missionary ladies agreed, as they pressed money into her hands.
▪ Harriet pressed a hand to her mouth and closed her eyes.
▪ Add the melted butter in a stream, while mixing until it holds together when pressed in your hand.
put
▪ Some months later it dawned on me that he had put his hands on my head and what this implied!
▪ Luther put his hand inside his suit jacket.
▪ She put her hand defiantly on his arm and glared at the ring of faces.
▪ He put out his hand to stop her as she went by.
▪ But before we part, come, put your hand on this stone.
▪ You know, I put my hand inside his shirt and I feel like some one else is doing it.
▪ Anna Harland put her hand on her daughter's arm, and smiled at them.
▪ Dunne put his hands in the air.
raise
▪ Gaunt raised his hand as if welcoming the plaudits of the crowd.
▪ Carla raises her hand as if she were at school.
▪ Zach gave a long ghostly moan and raised his hands.
▪ Sev eral times he raised his hand to knock, but each time he let it drop.
▪ Then they raised their hands in the air and gave three cheers.
▪ She raised a hand to her hair.
▪ She raised her hand to hail a cab but the Paris traffic was zooming by at its usual break-neck pace.
▪ Perhaps I simply raise my hand.
reach
▪ Ash reached one hand out across the table and spilled my brandy into my lap.
▪ He had reached out his hand to try to pat her on the arm and noticed how erratic his own movements were.
▪ Then he reaches back with his hand and rubs his foot with it.
▪ She reached out with both hands.
▪ He reached his hand down to tilt her chin or did she raise it to anticipate him?
▪ The men reach out their hands and eat.
▪ She reached up to lock her hands behind his neck, her mouth parting beneath his.
▪ I reach for my hand mirror for confirmation.
rub
▪ Soccer Western agents rub hands over the prospect of an eastern defection Talking Point.
▪ I put a few drops on my palms and rubbed my hands together.
▪ He rubbed one in his hands to thaw it for me and barked at Nina, the black-haired girl.
▪ She rubbed her hands in his hair.
▪ He rubbed his hands on his pants, blew on his fingers, and put them back into his pockets.
▪ I can see the disinfectant manufactures rubbing their hands with glee, confident of selling still stronger-smelling concoctions.
▪ Lee rubbed his long-fingered hands together; he wondered where to start.
run
▪ Again he ran his left hand through his hair, but this time he felt a tingle of anticipation.
▪ He tugged on the ends of the billowing wig and ran his hands over it, pressing it to his head.
▪ She ran a hand through her hair and glanced up at the fighters again, one arm linked through Plummer's.
▪ I took a deep breath and ran my hands along my body.
▪ Then run your hand across the surface in order to detect any bumps or depressions not visible to the eye.
▪ McMurphy takes off his cap and runs his hands into that red hair.
▪ He resisted the temptation, leaning back in his seat, running a hand across his forehead.
▪ At the top of the meadow I reached back to run my hand over the few wispy hairs on his scalp.
shake
▪ They embraced Rose a second time and everybody shook hands.
▪ They shook hands and got in their cars and went home to supper.
▪ Then suddenly an old man pushed his way through to me and shook my hand.
▪ As he finished his set, Popper shook hands with the wheelchair-bound youngsters and passed out harmonicas to each.
▪ The guests were crowding slowly past the wedded couple, kissing them, shaking their hands.
▪ When he shakes hands, it reminds him of somebody else.
▪ He then shook my hand, wished me luck and returned to his home.
▪ They shake hands, kiss greetings, exchange news and rumors, and take snapshots of each other.
take
▪ Harry had taken her hand to help her up the last flight and they were both laughing like schoolchildren on an adventure.
▪ Why do generally honest employees take from the hand that feeds them?
▪ She took my hand, and played with my bracelet - and her fingers, her wrist were just bones.
▪ Mr Enders had taken her by the hand and led her to the front of the crowd.
▪ On reaching the toes, take your hands back to the head and sweep downwards again.
▪ Annie said, rising in her weary fashion, taking my hand.
▪ Don't wait for a muse to come take your hand.
▪ She reached back and took him in her hand.
throw
▪ Sophie threw her hands up in despair.
▪ The rector leaned forward and threw up his hand.
▪ Davide had seen the priests, who had shrugged and thrown up their hands indolently at the laundress's problem.
▪ Even his most recent wife, Mercedes, had thrown up her hands.
▪ At times they threw their hands up to their faces in true Macaulay Culkin style and almost screamed the roof off.
▪ Elmer throws him a hand of hay and pours a scoop of sweet feed into his trough.
▪ Here Abie threw up his hands at the ignorance of policemen.
▪ With two out, he stumbled from the mound and landed on his throwing hand and came out of the game.
wash
▪ The sooner it washes its hands of Mr Haider the better.
▪ I no longer had to stoop to wash my hands in public restrooms.
▪ Tell the kids to wash their hands and come in here when the programme's ended.
▪ I wash my hands quickly and flee from the restroom.
▪ Just wash your hands and then come back.
▪ She ate something, gave Ollie some oatmeal and softened toast, cleaned him up, washed her face and hands.
▪ Then, and only then, was it realised she had taken it off when she had washed her hands.
▪ Maybe he should wash his hands.
wave
▪ Then she smiled, waved her hand weakly, and was gone.
▪ He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, waved his hand, and sat there.
▪ She remembered him propped up by the nurses, waving his little hands about.
▪ He waves his hand round and round to show the globe-encircling blue ring of cold material sinking into the earth.
▪ As if he sensed their homage the Kha-Khan elect waved a hand in dismissal.
▪ Shoba had been waving her hand and trying to get attention.
▪ He waved his beringed hand at Thérèse.
▪ He sat there looking up, and waving a hand in the Esso-blue evening.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
(at) first hand
▪ Students in the program are exposed first hand to college life.
▪ The school deals first hand with all the problems of today's society.
▪ Eventually divers provided first hand evidence that sea otters use rocks as hammers under water to dislodge the abalones.
▪ Primary data is collected by the researcher at first hand, mainly through surveys, interviews, or participant observation.
▪ Released from prison, Rudd travelled around the country, undertaking surveys and checking information at first hand.
▪ The visit lasted over an hour during which time Neil Kinnock experienced at first hand what carpet manufacturing was all about.
▪ These two boys say nothing to me as they get in, first handing their weapons to their friends.
▪ Work is developed from first hand sources and observed drawing.
▪ Your letters were very welcome, but I still want to hear everything at first hand.
(have) sb's blood on your hands
▪ But I already have too much blood on my hands.
▪ Dad with blood on his hands.
▪ He hated to see her with blood on her hands.
▪ I want him to know he has my son's blood on his hands.
▪ Republicans spent eight years trying to prove President Clinton had blood on his hands.
▪ There's blood on my hands, mine or hers I don't know.
▪ There was blood on his hands and I thought he'd had an accident.
I've only got one pair of hands
I/you can count sb/sth on (the fingers of) one hand
a bird in the hand (is worth two in the bush)
a firm hand
▪ A firm hand on the reins?
▪ Although he runs the operation with a firm hand, the Steelers are more like a family than any other team.
▪ Finally fold the ribbon back on itself and press the strain relief device into position with firm hand pressure.
▪ In fact, a firm hand might have steered the team on the rocks.
▪ In other respects careful management and a firm hand pushed up the royal income.
▪ Lizzy would need a firm hand after this.
▪ The guests had been selected with a boldness and discrimination in which the initiated recognized the firm hand of Catherine the Great.
▪ When Barkley Ball was at its peak, there was little need for a firm hand.
a helping hand
▪ A few guidelines are all that is needed: Be considerate of others, give a helping hand, be safe.
▪ Britain's champion in the sport has been lending a helping hand.
▪ Everyone had a view: The proposal was an insult, a helping hand, a roadblock, a learning aid.
▪ He wasn't even offering her a helping hand, she brooded.
▪ People do need a helping hand.
▪ The Basques, romantics to a man, believed that Fate would give Biarritz a helping hand.
▪ Today, George is still going strong, giving his son, Robin a helping hand with the ploughing.
▪ Which makes it an excellent jumping off point if you need a helping hand.
a safe pair of hands
a safe pair of hands
an extra pair of hands
▪ But an extra pair of hands is still needed, especially during busy periods.
▪ The clinical teacher should be part of the ward team, but must resist becoming an extra pair of hands.
▪ We could visit a theatre, and there would be an extra pair of hands in the garden.
be a dab hand at/with sth
▪ However, they might be a dab hand at needlework or crochet.
▪ She was a dab hand at couplets, was Rosie.
▪ They should be dab hands with the diapers, and more in touch with their emotions.
▪ Workers at the Wellingborough factory are dab hands at turning out unusual orders.
be an old hand (at sth)
▪ Helms is an old hand at backroom politics.
▪ Blue is an old hand at such compositions and has never had any trouble with them.
▪ Habitat is an old hand at changing habits of a lifetime.
▪ Pete Zimmerman is an old hand at water initiatives.
▪ These were old hands, and Dawn Run was effectively still a novice.
▪ We are old hands in the public-school system.
be in safe hands
▪ Parents want to make sure they're leaving their children in safe hands.
▪ Ambulances arrived, Ivor and Pauline were in safe hands.
▪ I believed he was in safe hands.
▪ If we can tap it successfully - our future is in safe hands.
▪ My neck and hand were in safe hands-four of them.
▪ So if it was going to get rough she couldn't be in safer hands.
be putty in sb's hands
be rubbing your hands
▪ And ace marksman Aldo is rubbing his hands in glee at the prospect.
▪ Battle is joined and lawyers are rubbing their hands in anticipation.
▪ Frankie was rubbing his hands together and Chopper merely nodded now and then with a silly expression on his face.
▪ Good quality barley is making £151 a tonne so, not unnaturally, both farmers and merchants are rubbing their hands.
▪ He was rubbing your hands to warm you up.
▪ Players' agents and satellite salesmen will be rubbing their hands with glee.
▪ The doctor was rubbing her hands, probably to warm them, but it looked like a gesture of glee and greed.
▪ Thousands of people will be rubbing their hands with glee.
bite the hand that feeds you
▪ If I put my prices up, it's like biting the hand that feeds me - it's economic suicide.
▪ It is hard to bite the hand that feeds you.
▪ Somehow, without guidance and peer influence, cricketers are apt to bite the hand that feeds them.
▪ They are not normally going to bite the hand that feeds them.
▪ This appears to be a new version of biting the hand that feeds you.
bury your face/head in your hands
capable hands
▪ But they weren't capable hands.
▪ I am glad that the business continues to flourish in the capable hands of Rodney Shipsey - the third generation.
▪ I leave it all in your strong, capable hands.
▪ It was no affair of his that she had left the London studio in the capable hands of her assistant.
▪ May the Town Crier remain in the very capable hands of the college students and lecturers for a long time to come.
▪ Think penitent ... and in less capable hands, downright dull.
▪ You are in my capable hands.
change hands
▪ The theater recently changed hands.
▪ But even this little collection of cottage garden produce won't change hands without some stern bargaining.
▪ He had also been talking for ages to Broadman, and Ymor had seen a piece of paper change hands.
▪ In 1989, after several years of lagging profits, Lechmere changed hands as a result of a management-led leveraged buyout.
▪ More than 3 million shares changed hands, more than 14 times the six-month average of 204, 524 shares.
▪ Mr Adams's defeat in the only Northern Ireland seat to change hands was widely welcomed by nationalist and Unionist politicians.
▪ No money changed hands, he said.
▪ The price at which tenancies change hands is currently within the range £115,000 to £155,000.
▪ The property went into foreclosure and changed hands several times.
clean hands
▪ Bull leaned out of the window, gripping the edge of the crumbling sill with spotlessly clean hands.
▪ I wish I had discovered his method of undertaking glassfibre repairs with clean hands and no brush years ago.
▪ No one comes to the bargaining table with thoroughly clean hands, but we can be thankful that they still show up.
▪ Out of this sordid mix of political short-sightedness and commercial greed, no government emerges with clean hands.
▪ The patient himself may pick one up with clean hands, but no one else.
▪ Their support is based on a belief that the left governments have clean hands and have improved municipal services.
cup your hand(s)
▪ Sara cupped her hand around the match until it burned steadily.
▪ Grainne took the hot fragrant wine gratefully, and cupped her hands about the goblet for warmth.
▪ He cupped his hand around his mouth.
▪ He cupped his hand over his thing as if it were a flame that might blow out.
▪ He then shuffled around the room cupping his hand around the chimneys and blowing out one lamp after another.
▪ Periodically, Felix will turn to Manny, cup his hand and explain to him what has been said.
▪ Then she cupped her hands around Jack's face and gently pulled him to his feet.
▪ Trying by cupping his hand over the clasps to avoid the penetrating clicks of opening, George lifted the lid.
dirty your hands
either side/end/hand etc
▪ A pipe-freezing kit makes two plugs of ice either side of the joint so that you can cut through the pipes.
▪ A trained work elephant then moved up on either side, rather like tugs docking a ship.
▪ Fry bacon, turning until brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes either side.
▪ On either side of each barrier it leaves similar pockets of high and low cloud cover, of arid and lush terrain.
▪ On either side of the road are groves of guava trees.
▪ The guns chattered out either side of our Huey.
▪ The hall takes up the central bay through the two storeys; the dining- and drawing-rooms are on either side.
▪ White dunes made walls on either side of them.
fall into the hands/clutches of sb
▪ Somehow, the plans fell into the hands of an enemy spy.
▪ And for all that, I have fallen into the hands of the Robemaker, he thought angrily.
▪ It must never fall into the clutches of a political party again.
▪ The power to play or not fell into the hands of program director Crocker and his peers around the country.
fall/get into the wrong hands
▪ A crossed cheque therefore gives some protection against fraud if it falls into the wrong hands.
▪ And images of Kurds on tape could fall into the wrong hands.
▪ But some gun dealers have stopped selling replicas, because they're worried about them falling into the wrong hands.
▪ Cards falling into the wrong hands cost the industry three hundred pounds every minute.
▪ I will never allow Kirsty to fall into the wrong hands.
▪ Pentagon officials say they have already had some success reducing the risk that nuclear materials will fall into the wrong hands.
▪ Voice over Mr Foulkes is seeking Government safeguards to prevent Rayo from falling into the wrong hands.
force sb's hand
▪ The governor is trying to force the legislature's hand on this issue.
give (sb) a hand
▪ After George had left his basket at home he gave Willie a hand.
▪ Even so, some one would usually give me a hand or watch, with amusement, from the corners of their eyes.
▪ I gave her a hand packing up her clothes and stuff.
▪ I gave her hand a quick, cautious squeeze.
▪ It shows that some one out there is thinking of us, and giving us a hand along in the world.
▪ Léonie said to Rose: I'd like to give you a hand.
▪ Please, man, give me a hand!
give sb a free hand/rein
▪ They've given me a free hand with the budget, as long as I stay under $10,000.
▪ Both these factors gave him a freer hand to negotiate.
▪ He's given me a free hand to buy horses.
▪ I would discuss the script, say, on proportional representation, and then give him free rein.
▪ It turns them on and gives them a free hand to be as obnoxious as they want.
▪ No advanced industrial nation gives corporations a freer hand in busting unions.
▪ No, it was thanks to my culinary abilities that Marie-Claude gave me free rein of both her kitchen and her bedchamber.
▪ Then I pretty much give them free rein.
▪ While watching him at work she impulsively asked to borrow his materials and followed his advice to give her imagination free rein.
go cap in hand (to sb)
▪ Advertisers used to go to museums, cap in hand, to ask permission to use a painting for an advertisement.
grubby hands/paws/mitts
▪ Benedict imprisoned her closer, oblivious to her grubby hands caught against the pristine whiteness of his neckcloth.
▪ Every grubby penny I can get my grubby hands on, every grubby day of my grubby little life..
▪ The children are fighting under the tank, catching drips like diamonds in their grubby hands.
guiding light/hand/star
▪ And that is what Aeneas's young son did under the guiding hand of Alecto.
▪ Eddie was his hero, his guiding light.
▪ Father Peter, its guiding light, was also its provider of funds and sustenance.
▪ That will be the guiding light of the next Labour government.
▪ To followers, he is more than just a guiding light - he is the Messiah.
▪ Under Mr Yarrow's guiding hand, the reputation of the school was untarnished, these five long years.
hand in your notice/give (your) notice
hand/give/offer sb sth on a plate
have sb eating out of your hand
▪ He's brilliant in job interviews -- he always manages to get the panel eating out of his hand.
▪ I introduced Mr Wilkinson to my mother, and within minutes she had him eating out of her hand.
▪ In a second or two a man might have these boys eating out of his hand.
have the whip hand
▪ With the advent of term limits in the state Legislature, Orange County will have the whip hand.
have your hands/fingers in the till
have/gain the upper hand
▪ Police have gained the upper hand over the drug dealers in the area.
▪ But slowly and surely the followers of Chaos gained the upper hand.
▪ If the two had been introduced simultaneously, the larger one would invariably have the upper hand.
▪ Now White gains the upper hand.
▪ Officials said they might reopen the freeway at 5 p. m. today, perhaps sooner if firefighters gain the upper hand overnight.
▪ The world can only pray that they do not gain the upper hand.
▪ Under the proposed law, she would have the upper hand.
▪ We must destroy them now, while we yet have the upper hand.
▪ When you have a gun you have the upper hand, it makes you feel big, bad.
have/hold sth in your hot little hand
hold/have sb in the palm of your hand
▪ She's got the whole committee in the palm of her hand.
join hands
▪ I have a message of hope: the time has come to join hands.
▪ Li expressed the hope that the two developing powers join hands to develop high-tech industries, especially information technology.
▪ Physician and theologian join hands in assigning responsibility.
▪ They joined hands, they twirled round and round and round.
▪ They want to join hands and share.
▪ They would not on any account join hands with Lucifer.
▪ With that, doctor and patient joined hands and bowed their heads as Keys prayed.
keep your hands off sb/sth
▪ And keep your hands off Maria.
▪ But today with his mind too preoccupied to work he seemed quite unable to keep his hands off it.
▪ Couldn't keep our hands off each other.
▪ I could not keep my hands off them.
▪ The government should keep its hands off content.
▪ They had been unable to keep their hands off each other.
▪ They should stay out where they belong - keep their hands off our people.
knacker your elbow/hand etc
lay a hand/finger on sb
▪ He wouldn't dare lay a finger on any of us.
▪ I laid a hand on his hair.
▪ I lay a hand on his chest and felt him breathe, mile after mile through the Kentucky night.
▪ If she laid a hand on him, what could he do besides run for it?
▪ Some one laid a hand on me.
▪ Stuyvesant responded by laying hands on To bias Feake, who delivered the document, arresting and eventually banishing him.
▪ The odds are that the young man would not have laid a finger on her, but what if ...?
lend (sb) a hand
▪ Lend me a hand with this box.
▪ He may have lent a hand in the construction of the Jefferys pocket watch and even of H-4.
▪ I just thought I'd come up and lend a hand.
▪ I met them leeward of the middle vehicle, where they lent a hand to tip the wheelbarrow into a stable position.
▪ Joe lent a hand to all, and supplied much of the muscle.
▪ Nick and I laid out tow ropes to the bow of the raft, and cajoled bystanders to lend a hand.
▪ Shuttleworth Collection have supplied a copy of the engine manual - who else can lend a hand?
▪ Uncle Jack fell into the latter category, Ursula vehemently rejecting his offer to lend a hand.
▪ Women came by from other camps to lend a hand, bringing prashad.
live from hand to mouth
▪ He lived from hand to mouth making instant resolves every time he opened his mail.
▪ Teacher To live from hand to mouth.
not soil your hands
▪ Keep your drug money - I wouldn't want to soil my hands with it.
offer your hand (to sb)
▪ An old woman sat veiled in black in a corner; toward whom people nodded or quickly offered their hand.
▪ Delia Sutherland offered her hand to a young girl in an overall.
▪ Jotan was getting slowly to his feet, offering his hand to Arkhina.
▪ We have offered our hand again and again.
▪ When I look down toward his waist, I see that he has covertly offered his hand.
overplay your hand
▪ By opposing even a moderate ban on assault weapons, the gun lobby has overplayed its hand.
▪ Eventually, however, Safdarjung overplayed his hand.
▪ If his opponents were intent on overplaying their hand, it could only improve his position with the cardinal.
▪ Should she spell it out to him, or would that fatally overplay her hand?
▪ The unions overplayed their hand in the end.
▪ This drove a much harder bargain and, it has been suggested, represents the moment at which Edward overplayed his hand.
play into sb's hands
▪ And what good you, you silly fool, playing into my hands like this?
▪ It plays into the hands of the opposition.
▪ It would be playing into his hands to react to his deliberate teasing.
▪ Such action, I believed - and still believe - would have played into the hands of my enemies.
▪ This, the futures industry frets, would play into the hands of Rep.
▪ We should be careful not to play into the hands of murderers.
▪ Whatever he did would play into the hands of Isambard, whose traps were always dual, and could not be evaded.
press sb's hand/arm
put your hand/foot/arm out
▪ Everyone puts his hand out, from cabinet ministers to loan underwriters.
▪ He put his hand out and there was Lily, quiet and warm beside him.
▪ He put his hand out, touching his father's cheek.
▪ Minna put her hands out and I handed her the divorce.
▪ She tottered, and put her arms out.
▪ Vern put his hand out this time.
▪ When she put her hand out, trying to rise, she skittled a row of bottles.
rule sb with an iron fist/hand
shake sb's hand/shake hands with sb
show your hand
▪ He said that he wouldn't be bullied into showing his hand first.
▪ At Michaelmas 1183 Henry showed his hand.
▪ For one thing he needed hard evidence, and to get it he would have to show his hand.
▪ Kingfisher was forced to show its hand after rumours that a bid was in the offing began to circulate on Tuesday.
▪ Not the time to show our hand.
▪ Now the government has shown its hand.
▪ Though nobody on the government side had shown his hand, it was hardly necessary.
▪ When Dastmalchi called and showed his hand, Tom knew the game was up.
sit on your hands
▪ Most delegates sat on their hands while a few radicals took control of the discussion.
▪ So we sat on our hands about Sally, because we thought the stakes were higher than the National Enquirer.
stand on your head/hands
▪ A malevolent demon was standing on his head.
▪ And the hoops were made by soldiers, who turned over and stood on their hands and feet.
▪ I can do it standing on my head, although I won't.
▪ Maybe I have to stand on my head to prove I mean it.
▪ She had a washboard stomach, and her boyfriend would stand on his hands on chairs balanced above her.
▪ Somehow the doctrine of the Fall had been stood on its head.
▪ Susan was teaching Wyatt how to stand on his hands.
▪ We did; the moment the car stopped there I jumped out and stood on my head in the grass.
stay sb's hand
▪ There is little we can do to stay his hand without damaging East-West relations.
take matters into your own hands
▪ The city council took matters into its own hands and set a date for the meeting.
▪ As a result, some countries have taken matters into their own hands.
▪ Finally the women of Buntong Tiga can stand it no longer - they take matters into their own hands.
▪ She then took matters into her own hands.
▪ She was more than capable of taking matters into her own hands.
▪ So why not take matters into our own hands?
▪ The last thing leaders want is Tutsi who survived the genocide taking matters into their own hands.
▪ When the psycho is caught, then let go on a technicality, Mom takes matters into her own hands.
take the law into your own hands
▪ Citizens should not be expected to take the law into their own hands.
take/hand over the reins
▪ Campbell Christie takes over the reins at Brockville tomorrow.
▪ Finally, on November 24, he took over the reins of the Puzzle Palace from the retiring director.
▪ The younger generation had taken over the reins.
talk to the hand
the ball of the foot/hand
▪ Calluses grow on the ball of the foot and do not have a nucleus.
▪ However, I would suggest that you subsequently attack employing the ball of the foot rather than the injured instep.
▪ Raise your back heel and rest your weight on the ball of the foot.
▪ The heel of your leading foot should touch the ground, just before the ball of the foot and toes.
▪ The jumping turning kick: strike with the ball of the foot, keeping the back leg tucked up.
the dead hand of sth
▪ the dead hand of bureaucracy
▪ It isn't about the dead hand of the past, the unsettled guilt-edged accounts of history returning to haunt the present.
▪ State legislatures and Congress are no longer gripped as they once were by the dead hand of privilege.
▪ Such a move would reimpose the dead hand of state control and political interference.
▪ The core of the neoliberal argument is the need to free enterprise and initiative from the dead hand of the state.
▪ The main problem is the dead hand of local authorities, which keep tens of thousands of properties empty.
▪ Then there was Marta from Spartanburg, who was fleeing the dead hand of middle-class rectitude.
the devil makes/finds work for idle hands
the flat of sb's hand/a knife/a sword etc
the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing
throw in your hand
throw up your hands (in horror/dismay etc)
▪ But instead of throwing up her hands and blaming the problem on organizational chaos, she stepped back and analyzed the situation.
▪ Davide had seen the priests, who had shrugged and thrown up their hands indolently at the laundress's problem.
▪ Even his most recent wife, Mercedes, had thrown up her hands.
▪ He rounded the bend nearest the building, and nearly dropped the branch for throwing up his hands in frustration.
▪ Here Abie threw up his hands at the ignorance of policemen.
▪ Jenny exclaimed to E.. Ames, throwing up her hands.
▪ Paul Reichmann threw up his hands in protest at the suggestion, but did not utter a sound.
▪ Then they throw up their hands, wondering why the benefits they have been pursuing never seem to accrue.
time hangs/lies heavy on your hands
try your hand at sth
▪ Diane has always wanted to try her hand at acting.
▪ But he decided to try his hand at writing books and was enormously successful.
▪ Guinness tried his hand at the new Porter with rather more success than his fellow Dublin brewers.
▪ If you have the urge to try your hand at a grant, do so!
▪ Isaac Mizrahi tried his hand at the corset, and in the process turned out some fabulous evening dresses.
▪ It's time to try my hand at the settled life.
▪ Many who are in the process of acquiring these technical skills may wish to try their hand at grantsmanship.
▪ Plenty of Christians have tried their hand at putting their beliefs into prose or poetry, usually with calamitous aesthetic results.
▪ Sons wanted to try its hand at selling iced tea.
wait on sb hand and foot
▪ Oliver expects us to wait on him hand and foot.
wash your hands of sth
▪ Dunbar has already washed his hands of the project.
▪ Chun was not able to wash his hands of the Kwangju massacre, which dogged him throughout his eight-year rule.
▪ Did you feel like washing your hands of me again?
▪ I wash my hands of you.
▪ Imagine Delwyn Pepper up so in New York, washing his hands of our business.
▪ In the summer of 1988, King Hussein washed his hands of the territories.
▪ Let us wash our hands of those who do not care for us.
▪ The sooner it washes its hands of Mr Haider the better.
▪ We can not wash our hands of this.
with your bare hands
▪ They'll fight with their bare hands to protect their homeland.
▪ Firemen dug with their bare hands to free Gemma Kitchiner from the storage pit on her parents' farm.
▪ He'd strangled two children with his bare hands, then called the police to give himself up.
▪ He was capable of killing a man with his bare hands.
▪ I reached out to feel your forehead, but you burned so hot I could not touch you with my bare hands.
▪ Oyama is famous for fighting bulls with his bare hands.
▪ The novices empty vats of mutton scraps into the dustbins and pack them down with their bare hands.
▪ The shaman broke the bones with his bare hands, and used the jagged edges to scratch at his bark.
▪ With their bare hands, they fought to save the man who had an ear ripped off in the attack.
with your own fair hands
wring sb's hand
wring your hands
▪ "I don't know what else to do," Dan said, wringing his hands.
▪ Antoinette wrung her hands inside her daughter's clasp.
▪ But you can do more than stand around the coffee bar and wring your hands with your co-workers.
▪ He wrings his hands like a fly and clinches his eves at the awful sound of that squeaking.
▪ He wrung his hands in pleasure at her pleasure.
▪ I am not thinking simply of an inventory of the human woes that people wring their hands about.
▪ I remember my father standing over her sickbed, wringing his hands, so afraid of losing another child.
▪ Jenny fretted, wrung her hands.
▪ She was wringing her hands, pulling at her lovely mane of hair.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ a hired hand
▪ Go wash your hands.
▪ the hour hand
▪ The letter was written in a neat hand.
▪ We played a couple of hands of poker.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Even the town crier of nearby Faringdon was on hand to give an official reception.
▪ It was a lazy, almost careless gesture; only Caroline knew that the pressure of his hand was remorseless and proprietorial.
▪ My father looked at the wall, looked at his hands.
▪ She covers her face with her hand.
▪ Some one, I thought with illumination, who knew how easily Olympia had died from hands round the neck.
▪ The core, on the other hand, consists of divine goodness.
▪ The distinction between agreements under hand and covenants under seal has been largely obliterated.
II.verbCOLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
ball
▪ Then Baker handed the ball to Hernandez for two innings, and then to Beck.
▪ I reached in and handed him the ball.
card
▪ Feeling slightly unreal, Joe handed up his card.
▪ At one point Jeffries walked in, trailed by Taiwo, and appeared to hand a card to a student.
▪ He was handed back his identity card.
▪ You hand your smart card to the cashier at a restaurant and she runs it through a scanner.
▪ Antonio fished in his back pocket and handed him a card.
▪ The taxi-driver in Glasgow handed Carole Lacey his card.
▪ Polite brides will hand out more cards to thank guests for sharing their special day.
cash
▪ Steven White, 21, terrified staff at five banks into handing over cash, Southwark Crown Court heard.
▪ A leading councillor is concerned about the way the Government is handing out community care cash.
▪ If they guessed on which side it fell, he handed over £100 cash.
▪ In each of the robberies the raider handed over notes demanding cash and claiming he had a gun.
cup
▪ Although his eyes were red, the young man seemed calm - until Huy handed him a cup of beer.
▪ He took a gulp and handed his cup to her.
▪ As she handed him his cup the telephone rang.
▪ She handed them their cups of tea.
▪ It couldn't have, judging by her expression as she stood there handing him a cup of tea.
▪ Zahara handed Jane a cup of water.
▪ Alexei drank a little of the sweet wine, then handed his cup to Jotan.
▪ Silently she handed him her cup and watched him sip it appreciatively, his eyes on hers the entire time.
decision
▪ The commission will seek to arbitrate a resolution before handing down a decision in late summer.
▪ Just a few months earlier, the Supreme Court had handed down a decision inviting states to pass abortion restrictions.
▪ In 1969, the U. S. Supreme Court handed down a historic decision that challenged the reasonableness test.
▪ Nor will courts building upon Roe be likely to hand down erroneous decisions as a consequence.
▪ Barr asserted that Congress should act to forestall the inevitable confusion and litigation when the Hawaii court hands down its decision.
envelope
▪ As soon as she'd entered the hotel she'd been handed a white envelope containing a fax message.
▪ He dug into his coat and handed Miguel a thick envelope.
▪ Kevin had handed Fat Freddy an envelope on the steps of the bank.
▪ Verdugo hands guests small white envelopes soliciting donations for funerals and reconstruction of the shrine.
▪ He then hands Primo a letter-sized envelope.
glass
▪ She went into the bathroom and added water to the whisky, then came back out and handed him a glass.
▪ He handed her the glass of iced water and began to pace up and down restlessly.
▪ He brings the drinks silently and hands me a glass.
▪ With that in mind Charity should have firmly handed back the glasses.
▪ I handed Glen the glass with ice, pouring Scotch into it.
▪ She sipped the bubbly liquid and handed the glass back to Adrienne who sat down close beside her.
key
▪ But by handing over the keys he did not necessarily escape his debts.
▪ Rob handed over the Toyota keys.
▪ He handed over the keys to Angoulême and Montignac and their walls too were razed to the ground.
▪ They handed a set of keys and a book of records over to me.
▪ The effect was akin to handing the keys of a fast car to a young and irresponsible driver.
▪ His bland face showed no expression as she filled out the registration form and he handed her a key.
▪ I handed Richie the keys to the truck and tried not to think too hard about the journey home.
▪ A clerk told him the number of his reserved room, and handed a bellboy the key.
leaflet
▪ They used to travel around a lot, handing out leaflets and things.
▪ Some one from the Spartacus League, a radical political group, hands out leaflets from the sidewalk.
▪ Persons who hand out leaflets clearly distribute them, and so might be guilty under section 4.
▪ Oswald was handing out leaflets in the street.
▪ The supermarket may hand out pretty green-and-white leaflets boasting its environmental concerns.
▪ This kind of approach is far more effective than handing out government information leaflets.
▪ One of them was dressed in a Bugs Bunny rabbit costume and was handing out leaflets.
letter
▪ Councillor Tait has now been handed a letter which expresses concern over Mr Gilbert's dual role.
▪ At the head of the line, I attempted once more to hand over my letter, and to explain.
▪ If handing over the letters was what it took, then so be it.
▪ Well, perhaps handing him a letter is best.
▪ He had read the number off the old-fashioned dial phone as he handed his last letter in.
▪ Ruth handed the letter to Ernest.
money
▪ Therefore, are we not wise in being extremely cautious before we hand over our money supply to a third party?
▪ Briefly, it would require making Fong rich without actually handing him the money.
▪ There's no greater pleasure than handing over money to a local supplier who helps make life easier.
▪ Cashiers learned to hand over the money as soon as they appeared.
▪ You handed me back that money, remember?
▪ It was not an indiscriminate method of handing out money to all and sundry.
▪ The greying gunman pulled the weapon out of a carrier bag and threatened to shoot a cashier unless she handed over money.
note
▪ The sailors face split into a grin for the first tame when Yanto handed him four pound notes.
▪ Without a word he sprung to his feet and handed Mitchell a note, folded carefully into quarters.
▪ Balvinder got out his wallet and handed two 100-rupee notes to his neighbour.
▪ Nico was about to move on, when I, seated at counsel table, handed him a note.
▪ The moment I arrived the proprietress handed me a note with Bobbie's decisive writing on the envelope.
▪ I fumbled in my back pocket and handed him the crumpled note.
▪ Robert Floyd had walked into Binns in Darlington and handed a note to the 24-year-old assistant on the perfume counter.
▪ I tried to hand him back the notes.
notice
▪ On Wednesday she handed in her notice to the managing director, who was touchingly reluctant to accept it.
▪ But she has now handed in her notice and will leave the £15,000-a-year job in a fortnight.
▪ The day that! handed in my notice I went and put a deposit on a new car.
paper
▪ After a few minutes Rose handed the paper back to him.
▪ He handed a twist of paper to Mrs Goreng.
▪ Colleagues in whom he had boundless confidence had handed him papers which he had signed without reading them.
▪ He wondered why he felt helpless as she handed him the paper bag and patted his arm.
▪ Yet she hands back the paper with loops and letters from first line to last.
▪ The counselor handed me the paper.
plate
▪ As with all great adventures and challenges, the rewards and achievements are not handed out on a plate.
▪ Some one hands me a plate heaped with food and a plastic spoon, and I taste the salty, luscious beans.
▪ When I sat down I was handed a plate made of real china which had bread and butter and cakes on it.
▪ As he finished he smiled and handed me the empty plate.
▪ They handed me a cardboard plate on which was an apple, a slice of cake, and some homemade toffee.
power
▪ We break that trust by handing over power to unelected people without any mechanism for changing their decisions.
▪ His proposal effectively would trigger the untested constitutional process for handing over power to Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin.
▪ He then handed power to an elected government, but it failed to stop the economic decline.
▪ In allowing life to grow in the womb, a woman is partly handing over to powers outside her conscious control.
▪ His attempt to introduce democracy by handing over power to the elected president in 1993 failed.
▪ We have handed over that power.
▪ The people, by a tacit and irrevocable act of delegation, had handed over their powers to the monarch.
▪ Handing over the power to tax and spend means handing over the power to govern.
rein
▪ On his birthday, Hal himself may hand the reins to a new science fiction image of the future.
▪ Nicholson, 58, becomes the second Colorado politician this week to be handed the reins of a national party.
sentence
▪ A second lesson is that the heavy sentence handed down on Wacker will not deter the trade.
▪ Death sentences were handed down to eight of the accused.
▪ He knew the sentences that had been handed down to his associates.
▪ He upheld the death sentences handed down by lower courts.
task
▪ After a week, Loppe handed the task back to Galiot, mentioning that business required him in Kouklia.
▪ If he does play, Mowbray is likely to be handed the demanding task of subduing Mark Hateley.
■ VERB
hold
▪ Miss Rose and Uncle Billy; holding hands on the front row.
▪ They were sitting there holding hands.
refuse
▪ I don't have faith because I have always refused to hand over my reason.
shake
▪ She remembered John moving off to shake hands along a chain fence, his face rigid in the gray drizzle.
▪ We shook hands a second time.
▪ You can almost see the Page 1 picture now of the president and the network chiefs all shaking hands next week.
▪ I liked shaking hands at the end of the third round.
▪ He watched them shake hands and embrace.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
(at) first hand
▪ Students in the program are exposed first hand to college life.
▪ The school deals first hand with all the problems of today's society.
▪ Eventually divers provided first hand evidence that sea otters use rocks as hammers under water to dislodge the abalones.
▪ Primary data is collected by the researcher at first hand, mainly through surveys, interviews, or participant observation.
▪ Released from prison, Rudd travelled around the country, undertaking surveys and checking information at first hand.
▪ The visit lasted over an hour during which time Neil Kinnock experienced at first hand what carpet manufacturing was all about.
▪ These two boys say nothing to me as they get in, first handing their weapons to their friends.
▪ Work is developed from first hand sources and observed drawing.
▪ Your letters were very welcome, but I still want to hear everything at first hand.
(have) sb's blood on your hands
▪ But I already have too much blood on my hands.
▪ Dad with blood on his hands.
▪ He hated to see her with blood on her hands.
▪ I want him to know he has my son's blood on his hands.
▪ Republicans spent eight years trying to prove President Clinton had blood on his hands.
▪ There's blood on my hands, mine or hers I don't know.
▪ There was blood on his hands and I thought he'd had an accident.
I've only got one pair of hands
a bird in the hand (is worth two in the bush)
a firm hand
▪ A firm hand on the reins?
▪ Although he runs the operation with a firm hand, the Steelers are more like a family than any other team.
▪ Finally fold the ribbon back on itself and press the strain relief device into position with firm hand pressure.
▪ In fact, a firm hand might have steered the team on the rocks.
▪ In other respects careful management and a firm hand pushed up the royal income.
▪ Lizzy would need a firm hand after this.
▪ The guests had been selected with a boldness and discrimination in which the initiated recognized the firm hand of Catherine the Great.
▪ When Barkley Ball was at its peak, there was little need for a firm hand.
a safe pair of hands
a safe pair of hands
an extra pair of hands
▪ But an extra pair of hands is still needed, especially during busy periods.
▪ The clinical teacher should be part of the ward team, but must resist becoming an extra pair of hands.
▪ We could visit a theatre, and there would be an extra pair of hands in the garden.
back-handed compliment
▪ It's a back-handed compliment really, you know.
be a dab hand at/with sth
▪ However, they might be a dab hand at needlework or crochet.
▪ She was a dab hand at couplets, was Rosie.
▪ They should be dab hands with the diapers, and more in touch with their emotions.
▪ Workers at the Wellingborough factory are dab hands at turning out unusual orders.
be an old hand (at sth)
▪ Helms is an old hand at backroom politics.
▪ Blue is an old hand at such compositions and has never had any trouble with them.
▪ Habitat is an old hand at changing habits of a lifetime.
▪ Pete Zimmerman is an old hand at water initiatives.
▪ These were old hands, and Dawn Run was effectively still a novice.
▪ We are old hands in the public-school system.
be in safe hands
▪ Parents want to make sure they're leaving their children in safe hands.
▪ Ambulances arrived, Ivor and Pauline were in safe hands.
▪ I believed he was in safe hands.
▪ If we can tap it successfully - our future is in safe hands.
▪ My neck and hand were in safe hands-four of them.
▪ So if it was going to get rough she couldn't be in safer hands.
be putty in sb's hands
capable hands
▪ But they weren't capable hands.
▪ I am glad that the business continues to flourish in the capable hands of Rodney Shipsey - the third generation.
▪ I leave it all in your strong, capable hands.
▪ It was no affair of his that she had left the London studio in the capable hands of her assistant.
▪ May the Town Crier remain in the very capable hands of the college students and lecturers for a long time to come.
▪ Think penitent ... and in less capable hands, downright dull.
▪ You are in my capable hands.
clean hands
▪ Bull leaned out of the window, gripping the edge of the crumbling sill with spotlessly clean hands.
▪ I wish I had discovered his method of undertaking glassfibre repairs with clean hands and no brush years ago.
▪ No one comes to the bargaining table with thoroughly clean hands, but we can be thankful that they still show up.
▪ Out of this sordid mix of political short-sightedness and commercial greed, no government emerges with clean hands.
▪ The patient himself may pick one up with clean hands, but no one else.
▪ Their support is based on a belief that the left governments have clean hands and have improved municipal services.
either side/end/hand etc
▪ A pipe-freezing kit makes two plugs of ice either side of the joint so that you can cut through the pipes.
▪ A trained work elephant then moved up on either side, rather like tugs docking a ship.
▪ Fry bacon, turning until brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes either side.
▪ On either side of each barrier it leaves similar pockets of high and low cloud cover, of arid and lush terrain.
▪ On either side of the road are groves of guava trees.
▪ The guns chattered out either side of our Huey.
▪ The hall takes up the central bay through the two storeys; the dining- and drawing-rooms are on either side.
▪ White dunes made walls on either side of them.
fall/get into the wrong hands
▪ A crossed cheque therefore gives some protection against fraud if it falls into the wrong hands.
▪ And images of Kurds on tape could fall into the wrong hands.
▪ But some gun dealers have stopped selling replicas, because they're worried about them falling into the wrong hands.
▪ Cards falling into the wrong hands cost the industry three hundred pounds every minute.
▪ I will never allow Kirsty to fall into the wrong hands.
▪ Pentagon officials say they have already had some success reducing the risk that nuclear materials will fall into the wrong hands.
▪ Voice over Mr Foulkes is seeking Government safeguards to prevent Rayo from falling into the wrong hands.
give sb a free hand/rein
▪ They've given me a free hand with the budget, as long as I stay under $10,000.
▪ Both these factors gave him a freer hand to negotiate.
▪ He's given me a free hand to buy horses.
▪ I would discuss the script, say, on proportional representation, and then give him free rein.
▪ It turns them on and gives them a free hand to be as obnoxious as they want.
▪ No advanced industrial nation gives corporations a freer hand in busting unions.
▪ No, it was thanks to my culinary abilities that Marie-Claude gave me free rein of both her kitchen and her bedchamber.
▪ Then I pretty much give them free rein.
▪ While watching him at work she impulsively asked to borrow his materials and followed his advice to give her imagination free rein.
go cap in hand (to sb)
▪ Advertisers used to go to museums, cap in hand, to ask permission to use a painting for an advertisement.
grubby hands/paws/mitts
▪ Benedict imprisoned her closer, oblivious to her grubby hands caught against the pristine whiteness of his neckcloth.
▪ Every grubby penny I can get my grubby hands on, every grubby day of my grubby little life..
▪ The children are fighting under the tank, catching drips like diamonds in their grubby hands.
guiding light/hand/star
▪ And that is what Aeneas's young son did under the guiding hand of Alecto.
▪ Eddie was his hero, his guiding light.
▪ Father Peter, its guiding light, was also its provider of funds and sustenance.
▪ That will be the guiding light of the next Labour government.
▪ To followers, he is more than just a guiding light - he is the Messiah.
▪ Under Mr Yarrow's guiding hand, the reputation of the school was untarnished, these five long years.
hand in your notice/give (your) notice
hand/give/offer sb sth on a plate
have the whip hand
▪ With the advent of term limits in the state Legislature, Orange County will have the whip hand.
have your hands/fingers in the till
have/gain the upper hand
▪ Police have gained the upper hand over the drug dealers in the area.
▪ But slowly and surely the followers of Chaos gained the upper hand.
▪ If the two had been introduced simultaneously, the larger one would invariably have the upper hand.
▪ Now White gains the upper hand.
▪ Officials said they might reopen the freeway at 5 p. m. today, perhaps sooner if firefighters gain the upper hand overnight.
▪ The world can only pray that they do not gain the upper hand.
▪ Under the proposed law, she would have the upper hand.
▪ We must destroy them now, while we yet have the upper hand.
▪ When you have a gun you have the upper hand, it makes you feel big, bad.
have/hold sth in your hot little hand
hold/have sb in the palm of your hand
▪ She's got the whole committee in the palm of her hand.
take matters into your own hands
▪ The city council took matters into its own hands and set a date for the meeting.
▪ As a result, some countries have taken matters into their own hands.
▪ Finally the women of Buntong Tiga can stand it no longer - they take matters into their own hands.
▪ She then took matters into her own hands.
▪ She was more than capable of taking matters into her own hands.
▪ So why not take matters into our own hands?
▪ The last thing leaders want is Tutsi who survived the genocide taking matters into their own hands.
▪ When the psycho is caught, then let go on a technicality, Mom takes matters into her own hands.
take the law into your own hands
▪ Citizens should not be expected to take the law into their own hands.
take/hand over the reins
▪ Campbell Christie takes over the reins at Brockville tomorrow.
▪ Finally, on November 24, he took over the reins of the Puzzle Palace from the retiring director.
▪ The younger generation had taken over the reins.
the ball of the foot/hand
▪ Calluses grow on the ball of the foot and do not have a nucleus.
▪ However, I would suggest that you subsequently attack employing the ball of the foot rather than the injured instep.
▪ Raise your back heel and rest your weight on the ball of the foot.
▪ The heel of your leading foot should touch the ground, just before the ball of the foot and toes.
▪ The jumping turning kick: strike with the ball of the foot, keeping the back leg tucked up.
the dead hand of sth
▪ the dead hand of bureaucracy
▪ It isn't about the dead hand of the past, the unsettled guilt-edged accounts of history returning to haunt the present.
▪ State legislatures and Congress are no longer gripped as they once were by the dead hand of privilege.
▪ Such a move would reimpose the dead hand of state control and political interference.
▪ The core of the neoliberal argument is the need to free enterprise and initiative from the dead hand of the state.
▪ The main problem is the dead hand of local authorities, which keep tens of thousands of properties empty.
▪ Then there was Marta from Spartanburg, who was fleeing the dead hand of middle-class rectitude.
the devil makes/finds work for idle hands
the flat of sb's hand/a knife/a sword etc
the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing
time hangs/lies heavy on your hands
with your bare hands
▪ They'll fight with their bare hands to protect their homeland.
▪ Firemen dug with their bare hands to free Gemma Kitchiner from the storage pit on her parents' farm.
▪ He'd strangled two children with his bare hands, then called the police to give himself up.
▪ He was capable of killing a man with his bare hands.
▪ I reached out to feel your forehead, but you burned so hot I could not touch you with my bare hands.
▪ Oyama is famous for fighting bulls with his bare hands.
▪ The novices empty vats of mutton scraps into the dustbins and pack them down with their bare hands.
▪ The shaman broke the bones with his bare hands, and used the jagged edges to scratch at his bark.
▪ With their bare hands, they fought to save the man who had an ear ripped off in the attack.
with your own fair hands
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ As the delegates entered the room they were each handed a name-badge.
▪ The nurse handed me a glass of brown liquid and told me to drink it.
▪ Would you please hand your ticket to the man at the door.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Alternatively, you can pay £2266 and get the whole kit without handing over your old parts.
▪ Here, you simply hand over your money to a stockbroker.
▪ I said, and handed it back.
▪ It's not just the gross amounts of money that have been handed out to undeserving executives.
▪ The boy handed him a limp paper bag that smelled of tuna fish.
▪ Therefore, are we not wise in being extremely cautious before we hand over our money supply to a third party?