Hand

Source Wright, Joseph English Dialect Dictionary https://eddonline4-proj.uibk.ac.at/edd/main.html

HAND, sb. and v. Var. dial. uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and Amer. Also in forms an- Nhp.1 Oxf.1 Dev.; haand Sh.I.; han Sc. (Jam.) Cai.1 N.I.1 Nhb.1 Dur.1 Lakel.1 Lakel.2 Cum.1 Cum.4 e.Yks.1 w.Yks. Suf.1 Dev.; hant Lan.; haun Ayr. Lnk.; hond w.Yks. Lan.1 s.Stf. [h)an(d, æn(d, ond.] 1. sb. In comb. (1) Hand-ball, the game of rounders; (2) Hand-barrow, a barrow or kind of large tray on legs, with four projecting handles, carried by the hands; (3) Hand-beast, the horse a ploughman directs with his left hand; (4) Hand-beat, to cut off the turf, &c. with a mattock, in order to burn it and so render the land arable; see Burn-beat; (5) Hand-beating, the process of preparing land by burn-beating (q.v.); (6) Hand-bellows, a small pair of bellows; (7) Hand-bill, a bill-hook or hedging-hook; (8) Hand-bind, a grip in wrestling; (9) Hand-blomary, Obs., a smelting furnace; (10) Hand-board, a tea-tray; (11) Hand-bolts, handcuffs; (12) Hand-bound, (a) fully occupied, very busy; (b) hampered, put to inconvenience; (13) Hand-box, the lower handle of a sawyer's long pit-saw; also called Box; (14) Hand-braid or Hand-breed, a hand's breadth; (15) Hand-breadth, a measure of 3 inches, sometimes used loosely for ‘hand’; (16) Hand-brush, a brush used for domestic cleaning purposes; (17) Hand-burying, a walking funeral, in which the body is carried by hand; (18) Hand-canter, a quick canter; (19) Hand-carrying, see (17); (20) Hand-'s-chare, light household work; a very small piece of work, an odd job; (21) Hand-clap, a moment, short space of time; (22) Hand-cled, gloved; (23) Hand-cloth, (a) a towel; (b) a pocket-handkerchief; (24) Hand-clout or Hand-cloot, see (23, a); (25) Hand-cold, cold enough to chill the hands; (26) Hand-croppers, obs., workmen who formerly cropped or cut the raised fibres on the face of cloth, by hand; (27) Hand-darg, handiwork, labour, toil; what is gained by labour; (28) Hand-drist, to separate corn from the chaff, &c., after it is threshed, by rubbing it between the hands; (29) Hand-fast, (a) to betroth; to pledge; to shake hands over a bargain; also used attrib.; (b) able to hold tight; also used fig.; (30) Hand-fasting or Hand-fisting, obs., a betrothal; see below; (31) Hand-fill, to separate the small from the large coal in a mine; (32) Hand-flower, the wallflower, Cheiranthus Cheiri; (33) Hand-frandie, a hand-rick or small stack of corn, no higher than can be reached with the hand; (34) Hand-ful, (a) a heavy charge or task; a burden, responsibility; (b) a few; a small quantity; (35) Hand-gear, any working arrangement of machinery, which is moved by hand; (36) Hand-gloves, gloves; (37) Hand-going or Hand-gying, reported from one to another; (38) Hand-greeping-hook, obs., a hook formerly used by women for cutting wheat; (39) Hand-grip, a grasp of the hand; (40) Hand-gun, a pistol; a pop-gun; (41) Hand-habble, see below; (42) Hand-haill, hand-whole, fit for all one's work; (43) Hand-hap, a chance, hazard; (44) Hand-hats, a kind of glove, made of thick felt, covering only the palm of the hand and the fingers; (45) Hand-hawk, a plasterer's tool on which he lays the plaster; (46) Hand-hold, a firm grasp with the hand; anything that may be grasped or taken hold of with the hand; (47) Hand-hollow, a term used in the game of ‘hop-scotch’ or ‘hitchy-dabber’; see below; (48) Hand-hook, tanning term: a short iron hook, fixed in a cross-handle of wood, with which tanners move the wet hides; (49) Hand-hoven-bread, oatmeal bread kneaded very stiffly and with very little leaven; (50) Hand-huts, small stacks built by hand, by a person standing on the ground; (51) Hand-idle, idle, having nothing to occupy the hands; (52) Hand-irons, flat-irons for laundry work; (53) Hand-ladder, a light ladder, easily carried by hand; (54) Hand-lass, a windlass; the handle of a windlass; (55) Hand-leather, a partial leather covering for the hands of shoemakers, brick-fillers, &c.; (56) Hand-led, led by the hand; (57) Hand-less, awkward, clumsy; awkward in using the hands; (58) Hand-line, (a) a fishing-line for taking fish from the bottom of deep water; also used attrib.; (b) fishing with a hand-line; (59) Hand-making, making or manufacturing by hand as opposed to machinery; (60) Hand-meag, a tool used to mow peas, brake, &c.; (61) Hand-mow, a small stack of hay or corn; (62) Hand-ock, see (45); (63) Hand-offer, a gift; (64) Hand-pannier, a small hand-basket; (65) Hand-pat, ready at hand, convenient; off-hand, fluent; (66) Hand-payment, a beating; (67) Hand-picked, used of large coals or coke filled by hand without using a shovel; (68) Hand-pin, a wooden pin used for the purpose of wringing hanks; (69) Hand-pins, the handles of a scythe; (70) Hand-plane, a smoothing-plane; (71) Hand-promise, a betrothal, troth-plight; (72) Hand-prop, a walking-stick; (73) Hand-putter, a person who ‘puts’ or pushes a barrow without the assistance of a pony, in a coal-mine; (74) Hand-rackle, careless, acting without consideration; active, ready; (75) Hand-raising, the process of raising the surface of cloth, & by hand-cards; (76) Hand-reel, an old reel or machine, used for winding and numbering the hanks of yarn; (77) Hand-rest, the right-hand or slighter handle of a ‘timbern zole’; (78) Hand-ride or Hand-rode, a term used by shepherds in sheep-breeding; see below; (79) Hand-running, consecutively, continuously, in uninterrupted succession; (80) Hand-saw, in phr. (80) to have a voice like the sharpening of a handsaw, to have a harsh, disagreeable voice; (81) Hand-scroo, a rick of sheaves such as can be built by hand from the ground; (82) Hand-seller, see below; (83) Hand-shaking, (a) a correction, punishment; a close engagement, grappling; (b) an interference, intermeddling; (84) Hand-sheckles, see (11); (85) Hand-shoes, gloves; (86) Hand-smooth, quite level, as smooth as the palm of the hand, without obstacle, uninterruptedly; (87) Hand-spaik or Hand-spoke, a handspike, a piece of wood with handles, used esp. for carrying the dead to the place of interment; (88) Hand-spike, a wooden lever, shod with iron; (89) Hand-spring, a street-arab's acrobatic performance; (90) Hand-staff or Hand-stave, (a) the handle of a flail; (b) see (72); (91) Hand-staff-cap, the swivel that joins the handle and swingle of a flail; (92) Hand-stick, see (90, a); (93) Hand-stir, (a) a very small distance; a slight movement; (b) the smallest possible amount of labour; (94) Hand-stocking, a mitten; (95) Hand-stone, a small stone, a pebble; (96) Hand-strike, (a) a blow with the hand; (b) a strong piece of wood used as a lever to a windlass; (97) Hand-stroke, see (93, b); (98) Hand-tethers, (a) see (11); (b) pursuits requiring constant attention; (99) Hand-thief, one who steals with the hands; (100) Hand-tied, (a) unable to leave a job in which one is engaged; (b) hand-clasped; (101) Hand-ties, (a) see (11); (b) see (98, b); (102) Hand-tillage, artificial manure spread on the land with the hand; (103) Hand-tree, obs., the top piece of the ‘going part’ of a hand-loom; (104) Hand-turn or Hand-'s turn, a single act of doing a piece of work; (105) Hand-wailed or Hand-waled, remarkable, distinguished in whatever way; carefully selected; (106) Hand-wave, to ‘streek’ a measure of grain by striking it with the hand in order to give good measure; (107) Hand-waving, a mode of measuring grain by striking it with the hand; (108) Hand-wed, weeded by hand; (109) Hand-('s while, a little while; (110) Hand-woman, a midwife; (111) Hand-wrist, the wrist; (112) Hand-write, handwriting, penmanship; (113) Hand-wrought, fabricated by hand. (1) Sc. Ye may walk in't very near three hours a-day, and play at pitch-and-toss, and hand-ba', and what not, Scott Guy M. (1815) xliv. e.Dur.1 More commonly called ‘roondies.’ Played by girls with shells (‘williks’) and a ball, whilst these words are recited: ─ ‘Set a cup upon a rock, Chalk me one a pot. One, two, three, four, One at a time,’ &c. ‘One up,’ &c. (2) Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). se.Wor.1 A barrow or carriage without a wheel, but with a pair of handles at each end, by which to carry it. w.Som.1 In constant use by gardeners for carrying flowers, &c.; also in quarries for carrying stones. (3) Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (4) Dev. To hand-beat, to cut off the surface of the earth or spine with a hough, which is otherwise done with a spade, and sometimes with a breast-plough, and even with a paring-plough, drawn with horses, in order for sweating or burning, Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) (5) w.Som.1 The act of digging up with a mattock old weedy and furzy turf (which is too full of roots to be ploughed) for the purpose of burning it, and so rendering the land arable. n.Dev. Whare they be shooling o' beat, handbeating or angle-bowing, Exm. Scold. (1746) l. 197. w.Dev. Chipping off the sward with a beating-axe, Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) I. 142. (6) Sc. I'll bring a pair o' han'-bellows, Sc. Haggis, 60. (7) n.Cy. (J.W.), s.Not. (J.P.K.) Lin. Come out here with the handbills and brattle all the willows anywhere nigh, Fenn Dick o' the Fens (1888) iv. (8) Sh.I. Dey wir nae buttin i' da haandbind I tink, an' hit wis as weel for Geordie, Sh. News (May 7, 1898). (9) Hrf. Iron ore was discovered in the sandy district of Wormelow hundred as early as the time of the Romans in Britain, and many of the hand-blomaries used by them have been met with on Peterslow Common, Marshall Review (1818) II. 303. (10) e.Lan.1, Chs.1, s.Chs.1 (11) Hmp. (J.R.W.), Hmp.1 (12, a) Lth. How may hand-bound minnie get Her tottums clad sae gaily? Ballantine Poems (1856) 276. (b) Nhb.1 An old bird fancier, when asked how he was getting on, replied, ‘Middlin! Aa's fair handbun for the want o' a Jack’ [jackdaw]. (13) Wil.1 (14) Frf. He perceived a nitch in it, some more than a hand-brode from the hilt, Lowson Guidfollow (1890) 282. e.Fif. Cuttin' the legs o' them a hand-breed ower short, Latto Tam Bodkin (1864) viii. Ayr. Ae limpin leg a hand-breed shorter, Burns Willie's Wife, st. 3; I went out from his presence a hand-breid heicher in my own estimation, Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 89. Lnk. Pouther up her hair, An' stick her newest kame abune't, A hand-braid high an' mair, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 93. Nhb.1, Cum.1 Cum.4, e.Yks.1, w.Yks.1, e.Lan.1, n.Lin.1, Nhp.1 (15) Shr.1 A rather loose expression, signifying approximately rather than exactly, Introd. 93. (16) w.Mid. They have a handle about a foot long, which is cut from the same piece of wood as the back. This is about 4 in. square, except that the end farthest away from the handle is slightly rounded like a cricket-bat (W.P.M.). (17) n.Yks.2 (18) Ayr. They drove at a fine ‘han’ canter’ down the Kyle Stewart, Ainslie Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 49. (19) n.Yks.2 Many of the old inhabitants had an aversion to be hearsed, choosing rather to be ‘carried by hand and sung before,’ as it was the mode of their families in time past; and in the suspensary manner of ‘hand-carrying’ with the hold of linen towels passing beneath the coffin, we still see women borne by women, as men by men, &c., Introd. 9. (20) s.Not. Oh, my sister! she niver does a hand's-chare for me (J.P.K.). s.Lin. Obs. (T.H.R.) Lei.1 I have no one to do a hand's-chare for me. Nhp.1 ‘She wont do a hands-chare,’ is a common mode of complaint against an indolent, inactive person; Nhp.2, War.3 (21) Cai.1 Gall. They would get husbands in a handclap, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 302, ed. 1876. (22) n.Yks.2 (23, a) Lakel.1, Cum.4 (b) Lakel.2 (24) n.Cy. Grose (1790). Dur.1, Lakel.1 Lakel.2, Cum.1 Cum.4 n.Yks. Muder, ev yo· seen t'hand-clout? A want to wipe thees things (W.H.); n.Yks.1 n.Yks.2 n.Yks.4, ne.Yks.1 e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788). m.Yks.1 w.Yks. Leuk fer t'clean hancloot an' all, Blackah Poems (1867) 10; w.Yks.1 w.Yks.5, nw.Der.1, n.Lin.1 (25) Ken.1 There was a frost down in the bottoms, for I was right-down hand-cold as I come up to the great house. (26) w.Yks. The ire of the hand-croppers in this district were directed against a machine termed a frame, Peel Luddites (1870) 9. (27) Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Ayr. Nought but his han' darg, to keep Them right an' tight, Burns Twa Dogs (1786) l. 77. (28) Sh.&Ork.1 (29, a) Sc. Endeavour to have in mind the love of your espousals, when ye and Christ were hand-fasted, Thomson Cloud of Witnesses (1714) 254, ed. 1871; This Isobel was but handfast with him, and deceased before the marriage, Andrews Bygone Ch. Life (1899) 210; That gentlewoman had confess'd to himself she was handfast before she came out of England, Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844) I. 107. Nhb.1 Obs. Lakel.2 n.Yks.2 ‘A handfast lot,’ unionists. Handfasted, pledged. (b) Ken.1 ‘Old George is middlin' handfast to-day' (said of a good catch at cricket). Dev.1 When a was bad a was zo handyfast that a widn't suffer her out o' es sight neart or day, 40. (30) Sc. It was not until more than twenty years after the Reformation that the custom of ‘handfasting,’ which had come down from old Celtic times, fell into disrepute, and consequent disuse. By this term was understood cohabitation for a year, the couple being then free to separate, unless they agreed to make the union permanent, Andrews Bygone Ch. Life (1899) 210; Among the various customs now obs. the most curious was that of ‘handfisting.’.. In the upper part of Eskdale... was held an annual fair, where multitudes of each sex repaired. The unmarried looked out for mates, made their engagements by joining hands, or by handfisting, went off in pairs, cohabited till the next annual return of the fair... and then were at liberty to declare their approbation or dislike of each other. If each party continued constant, the handfisting was renewed for life, Pennant Tour (1772) 91, 92 (Jam.). Slk. We hae comed far... for a preevat but honest hand-fasting, Hogg Tales (1838) 368, ed. 1866. Dmf. At that fair it was the custom for the unmarried persons of both sexes to choose a companion... with whom they were to live till that time next year. This was called hand-fasting, Statist. Acc. XII. 615 (Jam.). N.Cy.2, Nhb. (K.) (31) Nhb. To separate the small from the large coals in the mine, the latter being filled by the hand into the tub or corf, and the former thrown to the side of the working-place, or filled separately as required (R.O.H.). Nhb., Dur. Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (ed. 1888). (32) w.Yks. Lees Flora (1888) 137. (33) Fif. (Jam.) (34, a) Cai.1 Unfeeling or selfish persons who have to attend to one in severe or protracted illness, sometimes say that ‘he is a sair hanfu'.’ Sh.I. If he's [it's] no a haandfoo 'at folk haes wi' dem frae da first fael is lifted an' fil [till] der i' da paet-neuk, dan, dan! Sh. News (Aug. 13, 1898). Kcd. Years the bailie hed been dowie, Lang an unco han'fu' till her, Grant Lays (1884) 45. Per. I leave ye wi' a heavy handfu', but oh, woman, lean on Him to whom naething's a burden, Jacques Herd Laddie, 24. Lnk. Watty left wi' sic a han'fu', What to dae, losh! couldna see, Nicholson Idylls (1870) 28. Ayr. He had been long a heavy handful, having been for years but, as it were, a breathing lump of mortality, Galt Provost (1822) viii. Nhb. ‘He has a handful’ (of work or anxiety). When any person is bedridden and helpless, they are said to be a ‘heavy handfa’ to those in whose care they are (R.O.H.). Yks. (J.W.) sw.Lin.1 You are well aware I have a handful wi' the boys. Rut.1 He's quite a handful, you're sure! War.2 You'll find that lad a rare handful. s.Wor.1 ‘Our ‘Liza's wonderful took up uv that chap o' hern, but if they gets married he'll be a handful, I reckon. Glo. (A.B.) Oxf.1 MS. add. Ken.1 To have a handful is to have as much as a person can do and bear. ‘Mrs. S. says she has a sad handful with her mother.’ Sur. (L.J.Y.) (b) Fif. I stood for a handfu' o' minutes afore I steppit aneath the trees, Robertson Provost (1894) 22. (35) Nhb. (R.O.H.) (36) Cor.1 What! begging with hand-gloves on! (37) n.Yks.2 (38) nw.Dev.1 It was about half the length of an ordinary reap-hook (q.v.), and was used in the right hand whilst the wheat was greeped [gripped] with the left. About six greeps or handfuls were made into one sheaf. (39) n.Yks.2 (40) Sc. Jockey and his mither came hame together, cheek for chow, cracking like twa hand-guns, Graham Writings (1883) II. 31. (41) Rxb. Business that is done quickly, summarily, without any previous plan, or without loss of time, is said to be done hand-habble. It often includes the idea of something haughty or imperious in the mode of acting (Jam.). (42) Per. The man that sits, as I do here, Haund-haill, an' neither slow to steer Nor quick to live, Haliburton Ochil Idylls (1891) 40. (43) Fif. At hand-hap, by chance (Jam.). (44) Nhb. These were formerly made at Corbridge for the teazers at glass works, who wore hand-hats to protect their hands in holding the hot pokers and tools used in their work. Obsol. (R.O.H.); Nhb.1 (45) Nhp.1 s.v. Hawk. e.An.1 (46) n.Yks.1 Ah couldn't ho'd mah handho'd, strahve as I moud; n.Yks.2 ‘Tak good hand-hod,’ take firm hold; n.Yks.4 It 'ez a good hand-ho'd ti't. e.Yks.1 Hez thă getten a good hand-hod, for if thoo hez'nt it'll slip away fre thă. Lin. Streatfeild Lin. and Danes (1884) 335. n.Lin.1 I darn't climb noä higher, ther's naather hand-hohd nor foot-hohd for one. Ken.1 'Tis a plaguey queer job to climb up there, there an't no hand-hold. (47) e.Dur.1 Used by girls when playing the game of ‘hitchy-dabber’ (hopscotch). Often the ‘dabber’ gets so near the line that a girl cannot insert the breadth of her hand between, in which case she must give up the ‘dabber’ to her opponent to play. (48) Chs.1 (49) N.Cy.2, Lan. (K.) (50) [A dry moment should be seized to put 2 or 3 stooks into what are called hand-huts in the field, that is, small stacks built by hand, by a person standing on the ground, Stephens Farm Bk. (ed. 1849) II. 372.] (51) Sc. I am hand-idle like yourself, minister, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 79. Sh.I. A'm gaein ta spin a treed o' wirset. I can say A'm haand idle for da want o' hit, Sh. News (Feb. 12, 1898). N.I.1 They're hand idle for want o' their tools. (52) e.Yks. (S.K.C.) (53) Wgt. Jamie's quarters were in the loft, to which a hand-ladder led, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 229. (54) Shr.1 Shr.2 (55) n.Yks. (I.W.) (56) n.Yks.2 ‘A hand-led bairn,’ a child just beginning to walk. (57) Sc. Being a lonely man, and used to fend for himself,.. the schoolmaster was not as handless as might be supposed, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 69; A handless taupie, a woman who exerts herself in so slovenly a way, that she still lets her work fall out of her hands (Jam.). Cai.1 Bnff. Hundreds of times we have tasted beef tea... cooked by handless dawdles, which an Irish pig would disgorge, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 75. Frf. He is most terribly handless, Barrie M. Ogilvy (1896) 128. Rnf. Curse her for a hanless gab, Young Pictures (1865) 162. Ayr. Wha wad keep the handless coof That couldna labour lea? Burns O can ye labour lea? Lnk. Ane and a' were puir feckless han'less creaturs, their fingers were a' thooms as the saying is, Fraser Whaups (1895) 173. e.Lth. I peety ony man wha gets ane o' the thowless, han'less tawpies, Hunter J. Inwick (1895) 148. Cum.1 Cum.4 (58, a) Sh.I. Formerly sinkers were made of klamal or soap-stone, instead of lead as at present, and to this day fishermen speak of the haand-line stane or lead stane, a remnant of the ancient practice, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 129. Cai.1 A hand-line is wrought vertically from a boat. The hooks are at the end. It is run to the bottom, and then drawn back a fathom or so. (b) Sh.I. They had been off at the handline, and on their return one evening after dark were recounting the day's adventures to the old man, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 22. (59) Frf. The days o' hand-makin' are aboot past an' dune noo, Willock Rosetty Ends (1886) 2, ed. 1889. (60) Nrf. I want you to make me a hand-meag, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 96, (61) Som. (W.F.R.) (62) Dev. Reports Provinc. (1889). (63) n.Yks.2 (64) Glo. Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) (65) Nhp.1 He told it me as hand-pat as could be; Nhp.2, War.3 Wor. Another illustration comes hand-pat, Evesham Jrn. (Jan. 30, 1897). Oxf.1 Uur'd dhŭ wul stoo·ri uz an·pat uz cuod bee ['Er 'd (she had) the wul stoory as anpat as could be]. Bdf. Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 135. Dor. He had it all handpat, Barnes Gl. (1863). Som. I've hitch un up on chimbley-crook, han'pat again he's wanted, Raymond Men o' Mendip (1898) i. Dev. Got et han'pat, Pulman Sketches (1842) 102, ed. 1871. (66) Abd. (Jam.) (67) Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). (68) w.Yks. Usually from 18 to 24 inches long, and gen. made of lignum vitae (R.S.). (69) nw.Dev.1 (70) Sc. (Jam.) (71) Ir. But Molly says, ‘I'd his hand-promise, an' shure he'll meet me agin,’ Tennyson To-morrow (1885). (72) Sc. Wha negleckit to bring your hand-prap? O whaur i' the warld's your bane-headit staff? Stewart Character (1857) 27. (73) Nhb.1 Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). [Reports Mines.] (74) Slk. The hand-rackle Homes, the dorty Dumbars, Hogg Perils of Man (1822) III. 12 (Jam.). Rxb. He's as hand-rackle a fallow as in a' the parish (Jam.). (75) w.Yks. (J.M.) (76) Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (77) nw.Dev.1 (78) Not. A word used by flock-owners or their men when in the autumn the ewes are put to the ram; it really means that instead of the ewes running with the ram he is kept up and the ewes brought to him and put in stocks, to be served (W.L.H.); Not.3 (79) Lakel.2, Cum.1 Cum.4 n.Yks. (T.S.); n.Yks.1 He stopped away three weeks hand-running and nivver went til his work at all; n.Yks.4 He's ta'en fowr prizes han'-running. ne.Yks.1 We've had three deeaths i' t'toon three tahms han'-runnin'. w.Yks. Shoo fetched her husband hooam twenty-one nights, hand-running, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1852) 10; w.Yks.1; w.Yks.2 He won six games hand-running; w.Yks.5 Lan.1 He'd feight the whole lot on 'em, hond-running, as easy as ninepence. e.Lan.1, m.Lan.1, Stf.1, nw.Der.1, Not.1 s.Not. I've hit that post five times hand-running (J.P.K.). n.Lin. Th' sho't-horn coo hed three roänd cauves hand-runnin' (M.P.); n.Lin.1 Ther' was six deaths from that feäver hand-running. Lei.1, Nhp.1, War.3 Bck., Bdf. I fell down three times, hand-running (J.W.B.). Hnt. (T.P.F.) (80) N.I.1 (81) Cai.1 (82) Lon. The sellers of tins, who carry them under their arms, or in any way on a round, apart from the use of a vehicle, are known as hand-sellers, Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) I. 354. (83, a) Slk. Fain wad I hae had a handshaking wi' them, Hogg Brownie of Bodsbeck (1818) (Jam.). Nhb. ‘Aa gav him a hanshakin,’ I corrected him severely (M.H.D.). (b) Rxb. I wad like naething better than to hae a handshakin' wi' that business (Jam.). (84) Nhb.1 (85) s.Sc. The skin of the goat that furnishes soft hand-shoes, as they call gloves in the Pictish counties of Scotland, Wilson Tales (1836) III. 142. (86) e.An.1 He ate it up hand-smooth. Suf.1, e.Suf. (F.H.) (87) Sc. The coffin was carried out on hand-spaiks, Hunter J. Armiger's Revenge (1897) xv. Sh.I. Da men wis fix'd da twa fowereen staangs 'at Geordie Moad wis taen frae da banks fir haandspaiks, Sh. News (Jan. 7, 1899). e.Lth. It took four-an-twenty men wi' han'-spaiks to lift him doun the avenue, Hunter J. Inwick (1895) 74. Gall. The old freet... that those who fall when at the handspake aneath the corpse, will soon be the corpse themsell, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 263, ed. 1876. Nhb.1, n.Lin.1, Suf.1 (88) w.Yks.1 Wil. Slow Gl. (1892). (89) Lon. I'd even begin tumbling when I went out on errands, doing hand-spring, and starts-up (that's laying on your back and throwing yourself up), Mayhew Lond. Labour (ed. 1861) III. 104. (90, a) Sc. (Jam.), Cai.1 Gall. The swoople on the end of the handstaff being whirled round on the barn-floor by the barnman, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 49, ed. 1876. N.I.1 (s.v. Flail.) Nhb.1 Cum. We fit up a flail Wi' handstaff, and soople, and cappin, Dickinson Cumbr. (1875) 230; Cum.1 Cum.4 Wm. I brokken mi handstaff (B.K.). n.Yks.1 n.Yks.2 n.Yks.4, ne.Yks.1, w.Yks.1, Chs.1, s.Chs.1, nw.Der.1, s.Not. (J.P.K.), n.Lin.1 Nhp.1 Anstiff, a corruption of handstaff; the handle of a flail. Shr.2, Hrf.2 Glo. The labourer held the hand-staff in both hands, swung it over his head, and brought the swingle down horizontally, Gibbs Cotswold Vill. (1898) 385. Bdf. Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 135. e.An.1 Suf. Rainbird Agric. (1819) 294, ed. 1849; Suf.1, e.Suf. (F.H.), Ken.1, Wil.1, Som. (W.F.R.) Dev. Ansteeve, the handle of a flail, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 46. nw.Dev.1 (b) Per. Hoastin' on their haund-staffs, And crynin' wi' the cauld, Haliburton Ochil Idylls (1891) 59. (91) e.An.1 (92) War.3, s.Wor.1 w.Som.1 It is a round, straight piece of very tough ash, so shaped as to leave a projecting ring of wood at the top. Over this comes the capel (q.v.), which is hollowed out to fit this ring, and turns easily upon it without coming off from the handstick. (93, a) w.Yks. Nay lass, ah'm noan gooin ta move a hand stir, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1896) 4. n.Lin.1 I've heärd them saay as hes been e' Lunnun, that th' roäk's ofens soä thick theäre 'at you can't seä a handstir afoore you, reight e' th' middle o' th' daay. (b) w.Yks.5 ‘Come, come, my lass, we've nivver done a hand-stir yet ─ get t'shool an' be cindering t'hearth up!’ ‘Hands-turn’ implies less of action than ‘hands-stir.’ n.Lin.1 Here you are clartin' aboot an' not a handstir of wark dun yet. (94) [Poetry Provinc. in Cornh. Mag. (1865) XII. 40.] (95) Sc. Formerly used for a small stone or one that could be easily lifted and thrown by the hand, in contradistinction from one which required much greater exertion (Jam.). Wgt. In this moor, and not far from the tomb, are great heaps of small hand-stones, which the country people call Cairnes, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 196. (96, a) Sc. Flycht is called flyting, in French ‘melle,’ quhilk sumtimes is conjoined with hand-streikes, Skene Difficult Wds. (1681) 87. (b) Shr.2 (97) Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin.1 ‘I'd hardly struck a hand-stroäk when doon she cums.’ Said by a man who had felled a rotten tree. (98) n.Yks.2 (99) Sh.I. Of slanderers it is said: ‘Ye may lock afore a haand t'ief, but no afore a tongue t'ief,’ Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 229. (100, a) Nhb.1 (b) Som. From the balconies above did hand-tied lovers lean and sigh, Raymond Tryphena (1895) 23. (101) n.Yks.2 (102) w.Yks. Bone-dust, or as it is called, hand-tillage, is used to a great extent for twenty miles around Sheffield, Marshall Review (1808) I. 386. (103) w.Yks. The weaver's left hand rested on this for the purpose of giving the necessary backward and forward motion to the sley (J.T.); (S.P.U.) (104) Sc. I would do a hand's-turn myself, and blithely, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 67. Sh.I. Dü ye tink 'at we'd grudged your maet if ye'd niver be duin' a haand's turn? Sh. News (Oct. 30, 1897). Per. A useless body, hardly able to do a hand's turn, Fergusson Vill. Poet (1897) 62. Dmb. Keep baith yoursel and me without doin a han's turn of wark, Cross Disruption (1844) ix. Lnk. She's a rale wee leddy yon, and canna dae a han's turn, Fraser Whaups (1895) 94. Gall. The shilpit pulin' brat that never did a hand's turn in her life, Crockett Standard Bearer (1898) 200. N.I.1 He hasn't done a hand's turn these six months. Nhb. Aa henna dyun a hands-turn thi day (R.O.H.); Nhb.1, e.Dur.1 Cum.1 He will n't set to ya hand's turn; Cum.4 n.Yks. I haint duan a single hand's tonn for a fotnith (T.S.); n.Yks.1 ‘Ah's nivver deean a hand-to'n sen Marti'mas'; spoken by a person incapacitated by illness; n.Yks.4 Sha's that lazy 'at sha wean't deea a hand-to'n foor hersen let alean foor onnybody else. ne.Yks.1 w.Yks.1; w.Yks.5 ‘Come, gi'e us a hand-turn wi't lad!’ ─ lend us your assistance here. Lan.1, Nhp.1 War.2 Not a hand's-turn would be put for'ad to help anybody; War.3 Nrf. She niver offered to dew a hand's tu'n, but stood garpin an starin just like numb chance (E.M.). Suf. ‘He gave her a hand's turn,’ a help with hand labour (e.g. in digging) (C.L.F.). (105) Sc. Often used in a bad sense; as ‘a hand-wail'd waster,’ a mere prodigal (Jam.). Ayr. My hand-waled curse keep hard in chase, Burns Ep. to Maj. Logan (Oct. 30, 1786) st. 7. Lnk. Sic wordy, wanton, hand-wail'd ware, Ramsay Poems (ed. 1733) 112. (106) Nhb.1 To streek a measure of corn with the hand by waving or passing the fingers over it to leave good measure. e.Yks. When they hand-wave (the corne), they drawe (it) lightly aboute in the bushell with theire hand, Best Rur. Econ. (1641) 104. [Not striked, but heaped, or at least hand-waved, so that the full allowance will weigh even more than this, Stephens Farm Bk. (ed. 1849) I. 311.] (107) Abd. They are measured by hand-waving, i.e. they are stroked by the hand about 4 inches above the top of the firlot, Statist. Acc. II. 533 (Jam.). (108) Not. You'll have to get all them nettles hand-wed, afore you can make a job of it (L.C.M.). sw.Lin.1 It'll be sooner all hacked up than hand-wed. (109) Slk., Peb. (Jam.), Nhp.1 (110) Dev. (Hall.) (111) Glo.1, Sus. (F.A.A.) w.Hmp. I sprained my hand-wrist (H.C.M.B.). Wil.1, n.Dor. (S.S.B.) Som. He dragged me all up the court by the hand-wristes (S.K.L.); (W.F.R.) w.Som.1 Aay-v u-kuut· mee an·rús [I have cut my wrist]. Dev. Poor little Clara West 'ath a-valled down pin tap tha ice an' brawked 'er 'and-wrist, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892). (112) Sc. Albeit it wanted a subscription, yet by the handwrite, and the style, and the purpose, I knew it to be yours, Wodrow Soc. Sel. Biog. (1847) I. 95. Cai.1 Lnk. Adhered to your preaching book, and declared the same to be your own hand-write, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) IV. 448, ed. 1828. Kcb. His hand-write and his seal, Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 284. N.I.1 Whose hand-write is that? (113) n.Yks.2 2. Phr. (a) sing. (1) Hand and hail, a game; see below; (2) Hand awhile, now and then; (3) Hand for nieve, side by side, cheek by jowl; abreast; also used fig.; (4) Hand in gully, a small half-circle just within a large ring, from which a boy, in a game of marbles, shoots or ‘lobs’ until he knocks one out; (5) Hand in the pie, concern or interference in a matter; (6) Hand of writ or write, handwriting, penmanship; (7) Hand over fist, with all possible haste or speed, hand over hand; (8) Hand over head, (a) indiscriminately, inconsiderately, without calculating consequences; (b) in confusion or disorder, pell-mell, confusedly; (c) used of hemp-dressing when the coarse is not separated from the fine part; (9) Hand to nieve, hand to hand, singly opposed; (10) ahin the hand, in arrears, in debt; (11) ahint the hand, after the event; (12) at no hand, on no account; (13) at one hand, at one time; (14) behind or behint hand, (a) see (10); (b) in secret, in an underhand way; (15) by hand, (a) past, done with; (b) out of the way; (16) fae hand, not at hand; (17) in hand, in charge; going on; (18) off hand, at once, without deliberation; (19) off one's hand, of one's own accord; (20) off the hand, fed by the hand; (21) out of hand, (a) forthwith, immediately; without delay; (b) reckless, off-hand, rough and ready; (c) applied to a child when first able to walk alone; (d) finished, completed; (22) with the hand, easily done; (23) any hand afore, ready and prepared for any undertaking; (24) the back of my hand to, an ungracious farewell; a mild rejection or repulse; (25) at every hand's turn, every moment, on every occasion; (26) there's my hand, an expression of sincere conviction; (27) to bear hand at, (a) to blame, hold one guilty of a thing; (b) to owe a grudge to, bear malice against; (28) to be on the mending hand, to improve in health, be convalescent; (29) to buy by hand, to estimate the value of anything without weighing it; (30) to give a hand, to help, assist; (31) to give in hand, to give into a person's hand; (32) to have a full hand, to have plenty of work; (33) to hold the hand, to keep in a state of expectation; to carry on correspondence with opposite parties in a clandestine manner; (34) to keep in hand, to keep in reserve; to be tedious in executing; (35) to lend a hand, see (30); (36) to make a hand of, (a) to spoil, waste, destroy; (b) to make a good business or profit out of; (c) to impose upon, make a profit out of a person; (d) to make a handle out of, fig. to make a cause of quarrel; (37) to make the safest hand of it, to make a sure job of it; (38) to put hand to paper, to write; to commit oneself by writing; (39) to put anything by hand, to go through with it; (40) to put hand in or to oneself, to commit suicide; (41) to put in hand, (42) to put to the hand, to begin work, commence a job; (43) to take a hand at, to make fun of; to mislead purposely; (44) to take by the hand, to marry; (45) to take through hand, to take to task; (46) one's own hand, one's own doing, of one's own accord. (1) Dmf. Two goals, called ‘hails’ or ‘dules,’ are fixed on:.. the two parties then place themselves between the goals or ‘dules,’ and one of the persons, taking a soft elastic ball, about the size of a man's fist, tosses it into the air, and as it falls strikes it with his palm towards his antagonists... As soon as the ball is ‘gowf't,’ that is struck away, the opposite party attempt to intercept it in its fall. This is called ‘keppan' the ba'.’ If they succeed in this attempt, the person who does so is entitled to throw the ball with all his might towards his antagonists (Jam.). (2) Nhb.1 (3) Cai.1 Rnf. Han'-for-nieve, the hawkies stan', Picken Poems (1788) 53 (Jam.). Lnk. Haun for nieve awa' fu' proud They tak the road thegither, Watson Poems (1853) 42. e.Lth. No' a frien' to lippen to, an' the Irish han'-for-nieve wi' oor enemies, Hunter J. Inwick (1895) 77. (4) Oxf.1 MS. add. (5) Edb. Has our folk nae hand i' the pye, Like the ither lads that bides o'er by? Liddle Poems (1821) 205. n.Cy. (J.W.) (6) Sc. Div ye think naebody can read hand o' writ but yoursell? Scott Antiquary (1816) xv. Abd. Ken ye that han' o' wreet? MacDonald Malcolm (1875) III. 250. Dmb. I... soon learn'd a han'some hand o' write, Taylor Poems (1827) 102. Ayr. A well-written letter in a fair hand of write, Galt Ann. Parish (1821) i. Gall. It's in your hand o' write that the name o' Janet Geddes stands in the big ha' Bible, Crockett Raiders (1894) xxxiii. (7) Gall. Tossing it ower their thrapples hand ower fist, CROCKETT Standard Bearer (1898) 118. Cor. Watty pulled in hand over fist; and in came the lead sinker over the notch, ‘Q.’ Wandering Heath (1895) 82. (8, a) Gall. Drovers in purchasing [large herds] will sometimes take the good, and leave the bad; this is called ‘shooting’: others will take the lot as it is; this is buying them hand owre head, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 252, ed. 1876. N.I.1 One with another, an expression used in selling, and meaning the putting an average value on a number of things that differ in value. ‘Now how much a piece will you say for them, if I take the whole lot hand over head?’ n.Cy. (J.W.), Lakel.2, Not.1, Lei.1, Nhp.1 Glo.2 16. e.An.1 w.Som.1 They be bound vor to go wrong (i.e. come to grief); can't go on hand-over-head like that there, very long. (b) n.Yks. They are mixed hand ower heead (I.W.). w.Yks.5 ‘A lot o' fellahs cam running hand-ower-hēad through t'passage [entry] an' ommast pick'd muh darn.’ ‘Here they come, hand-ower-hēad.’ s.Lin. When a went to see her she was handover-head cleaning her room (F.H.W.). (c) e.An.1 (9) Gall. (Jam.) Kcb. Some han' to nieve Wi' manly pith o' arm, beyond the mark, Far fling the pond'rous mell, Davidson Seasons (1789) 87. (10) Abd. (Jam.) (11) Slk. Folk are a' wise ahint the hand, Hogg Tales (1838) 321, ed. 1866. (12) Sc. ‘But father,’ said Jenny,.. ‘suldna I cry on you?’ ‘At no hand, Jenny,’ Scott Old Mortality (1816) iii. (13) w.Wor.1 Sam's a very good lad to me now, but at one 'and I thaowt 'e'd never do no good, to 'isself nar no one else. (14, a) Cai.1 (b) Cai.1, Cld. (Jam.) (15, a) Sc. Applied to any work that is already done, or any hardship that has been sustained (Jam.). Cai.1 (b) n.Sc. Applied to a person, at times in relation to marriage (Jam.); When she's by hand and awa', Ross Sng. (ROSS Sng.) (17) Sc. (Jam.) (18) Nhp.1 (19) Ayr. I was aye for our ane to mak' that proposal to you, but it has come better aff your haun, Hunter Studies (1870) 39. (20) Sh.I. Shü'll no foster twa lambs 'ithoot somtin' aff o' da haand, alto' he [it] is da end o' Aapril, Sh. News (May 7, 1898). (21, a) Ayr. When he asked her, she married him oot of haun, Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 9. Nhp.1 w.Som.1 You might depend, sir, I'll do un vor ee, right out o' hand. (b) Ayr. I would not juist insist upon such a hasty and oot of hand manner of treatment, Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 123. (c) Nhp.1 (d) Nhp.1 I've got the job out of hand at last. w.Som.1 The job shall be a-put out o' hand in a proper, workmanship manner. (22) N.I.1 ‘It's doon the hill, an' wi' the han':’ said of a thing that is easily done. This expression is taken from ploughing experience. When a man is ploughing across a sloping place, and has difficulty in getting the earth to lie back, he would say it was ‘again the han';’ if otherwise he would say it was ‘wi' the han'’ (s.v. Wi' the han'). (23) w.Yks.1 (24) Sh.I. Da back o' my haand baith ta dem an' der laws, Sh. News (Apr. 2, 1898). Cai.1 'E back o' my han' t'ye, I am done with you. Lnk. The back o' my hand to ye, Annie, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 91. (25) s.Ir. He wasn't in the forge at that present, ─ but was expected at every hand's turn, Lover Leg. (1848) II. 417. (26) Edb. There's my hand she'll tire, and soon sing dumb, Fergusson Poems (1773) 107, ed. 1785. (27, a) n.Yks.1; n.Yks.4 Ah beear him at hand foor all sha knaws aboot what wa did ay Sallie's. (b) n.Yks.1; n.Yks.2 ‘I'll bear thee at hand for't,’ I will owe you a grudge in the matter; n.Yks.4 It war nowt bud a dirty trick, an' Ah s'all awlus beear him at hand for't. (28) Nhp.1 w.Wor.1 The fever's made 'im mighty weak, but 'e's on the mendin 'and now. s.Wor. (H.K.), se.Wor.1 (29) Chs.1 The expression is chiefly used in buying fat pigs. s.Chs.1 Oxf.1 MS. add. (30) Sh.I. He had been in the habit of going south to sail, and coming home again every year in time to give the ‘old folks’ a hand with the harvest, Nicholson Aithstin' Hedder (1898) 7. Per. It's no a tracer to gie ye a hand at a brae, Sandy Scott (1897) 17. Lnk. John had come hame raither sooner than usual, just to gie a bit han', Roy Generalship (ed. 1895) 7. n.Cy. (J.W.) Ken. Give us a hand with this, will you? (D.W.L.) (31) Lin. An' a towd ma my sins, an's toithe were due, an' I gied it in hond, Tennyson N. Farmer, Old Style (1864) st. 3. (32) w.Wor.1 (33) Sc. The Admiral Hamilton... held both the king and them in hand for his own ends, not yet known, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 182 (Jam.). (34) Nhp.1 (35) Gall. He ne'er was sweir a han' to len’, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 52, ed. 1897. w.Yks. Tha'll suarly len' a helpin' hand To lift her off o' t'plat, Preston Poems (ed. 1881) 8. n.Lin.1 I alus lend 'em a hand when ther's onything goäs wrong. Nhp.1, Oxf. (G.O.) (36, a) N.I.1 If you let the chile get the book he'll make a hand of it. w.Yks. (E.G.) Lan. Freq. heard, N. & Q. (1886) 7th S. i. 517. e.An.1 ‘He has made a hand of all he had,’ he has wasted his whole property. Suf. Children make a hand of a proper lot of boots, Macmillan's Mag. (Sept. 1889) 358. (b) s.Not. ‘I med a hand on't,’ or ‘a good hand out of it’ (J.P.K.). (c) s.Chs.1 Ahy mŭn noa· ŭbuw·t)th maa·rkits ŭfoa·r ahy sel; ahy dù)nŭ waan·t bi mai·d ŭ aan·d on [I mun know abowt th' markets afore I sell; I dunna want be made a hand on]. s.Not. He ollus tries to mek a hand on yer (J.P.K.). (d) Lei. Endeavouring to urge me to say something he might take hold of to make a hand of, MS. Acct. of matters in dispute betw. Thornton and Bosworth (1796). (37) Sur.1 (38) Nhb. There is still a very common dread amongst some old people that evil may ensue from their writing anything. Great caution is therefore always exercised in the matter. ‘He wis not one to put hand to paper’ ─ to commit himself (R.O.H.); Nhb.1 (39) Sc. (Jam.) (40) Sc. Hislop Anecdote (1874) 634. Or.I. Belus being much discouraged and broken in spirit, despairing of life, put hand in himself, and became his own executioner, Brand Hist. (1721) 14 (Jam.). Cai.1 (41) Nhp.1 (42) Ayr. He is very anxious to put to his haun', Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 163. (43) N.I.1 There, don't mind him; he's only takin' a han' at you. (44) Sh.I. Trial an' hardship is been her lot, objeck, frae day 'at shü took Aandrew Tulloch bi da haand, Sh. News (Feb. 5, 1898). (45) Sc. (Jam.) (46) Nhb. He just took it up at his aan hand (R.O.H.). (b) pl. (1) Hands up, a term in curling: cease sweeping; (2) among hands, (3) atween hands, in the intervals of other engagements, between whiles; (4) between hands, in the meantime; (5) first hands, early, at the beginning; (6) through hands, in hand; discussed, done with, settled; (7) to be in hands with, (a) to possess in a certain way; (b) to be in a state of courtship with; (8) to be no great hands, not to be anything very good or remarkable; (9) to have no hands with, to have nothing to do with, have no dealings or connexion with; (10) to lay hands on, to baptize; (11) to put in one's hands, (12) to put out one's hands, to help oneself at table. (1) Ayr. I carena though ye're twa ells short ─ Hands up ─ there's walth o' pouther, Boswell Poet. Wks. (ed. 1871) 196. (a) Gall. Little jobs are sometimes done amang hans; that is to say, they are done without, in any shape, retarding the large job, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 8, ed. 1876. n.Cy. (J.W.) (3) Sc. (Jam.) (4) Per. The carles did baith rant and roar, And delt some knoits between-hands, Nicol Poems (1766) 48. n.Cy. (J.W.) (5) Sur.1 They didn't get much of a shoot first hands. (6) Ayr. Haith! we'se hae mony an auld ploy through hauns again! Service Notandums (1890) 3. (7, a) Sc. (Jam.) (b) Sc. He's in hands wi' Jean; do ye think they'll mak it out? (JAM.) (8) Stf. I'm no great hands of a traveller, Murray Joseph's Coat (1882) 38. (9) Glo. 'Ee did et yer see, and I didn't 'a no 'ands wi' ut, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) iv; Glo.1 I won't have no hands wi ye. Wil.1 I shan't hae no hands wi't. (10) Sc. This daft divine Shall ne'er lay hands on bairn o' yours and mine, Leighton Wds. (1869) 13. (11) Sh.I. Whin we wir set wis in, I says, ‘Gud bliss wis, men. Pit in your haands an' begin,’ Sh. News (Sept. 18, 1897). (12) Gall. (A.W.) 3. Fig. A workman, servant; an employé in a factory or mill. In gen. colloq. use. Frf. One of the old ‘wrichts’ had several apprentices and even a few journeyman ‘hands,’ Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 39. Per. This isna the way they do wi' hired hands where I come frae, Sandy Scott (1897) 10. n.Yks.2 An individual. A helper. ‘Good hand, good hire,’ good servant, good wages. w.Yks. Dun yo ever speak up fur th' honds? Warty Rhymes (1894) 18; (F.J.N.); w.Yks.3 n.Lin.1 Women and children who work upon a farm. The labourers and servant ‘chaps’ are not hands. s.Oxf. The 'ands are busy threshin' now most days, jest the last o' my barley, Rosemary Chilterns (1895) 39. 4. An adept, clever performer. Sh.I. Doo's da haand fir borin' even gengs, Sh. News (Apr. 29, 1899). Abd. He was nae han' at bargain-makin' an' that, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 16. Per. Gin there wasna a better hand I would hae to do my endeavour, Sandy Scott (1897) 56. Ayr. He's a great han' for splorin' about his punctuality in ordinary transactions, Hunter Studies (1870) 283. n.Cy. (J.W.) n.Yks. ‘She is a good hand,’ she is a clever needlewoman (T.S.). s.Stf. He was a reg'lar hond at carvin', Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Nhp.1 A bad hand at that work. Oxf. (G.O.) Nrf. You grind the scythes. You're a better hand on it than I am, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 248. Sus. Holloway. 5. Handwriting; signature. Rnf. I doot it's no dune for improvin' his haun, Neilson Poems (1877) 48. Nhp.1 Put your hand to this receipt. 6. A handling, feel when handled. Wil. Corn has a good hand when it is dry and slippery in the sack: a bad hand when damp and rough, Davis Agric. (1813); Wil.1 7. Fig. Anything difficult to manage, a ‘handful’; esp. in phr. a great hand. Cmb. He's been a great hand to me sin' he's been ill (M.J.B.). Sus. ‘A great hand,’ a good deal of trouble, as the trouble of bringing up a delicate child (S.P.H.). Ess. Well, sir, children are a hand (A.S.P.); Mother's a great hand (S.P.H.). Sur.1 It's a very great hand to have so many sick people. Sus.1 I was a terrible hand to mother all the time I was down with the titus-fever. 8. Business, performance, job. Ayr. A bonnie haun ye had made o't, Galt Provost (1826) xxxiii. Edb. See what a bonny hand ye'll mak o't! Tint Quey (1796) 15. Gall. He makes a bad hand o' himsell, i.e. he abuses himself (A.W.). n.Cy. (J.W.) Nrf., Suf., Hmp. Holloway. 9. The horse that walks on the left-hand side in a team, as opposed to the ‘fur’ or ‘furrow’ horse. Ayr. My han' afore's a gude auld has-been, Burns Inventory (1786) l. 8; My han' ahin's a weel gaun fillie, Burns Inventory l. 10. e.Lth. Ye couldna fit him wrang In whatna yoke ye bade him gang... Following or leadin', hand or fur, Mucklebackit Rhymes (1885) 61. N.I.1 The horse that walks on the unploughed land is said to be ‘in the han'’; the other horse is called the ‘fur horse’ (s.v. Wi' the han'). 10. Direction; neighbourhood. Abd. Nearer han' hame, at Marnoch, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) xiii. Nhb. Ever se mony cheps fre Rothbury hand came up, Oliver Rambles in Nhb. (1835) 156; (R.O.H.); Nhb.1 Lakel.2 He co's off o' Kendal hand bi' t'twang on him. Cum.1 He's gone towart Ireby and that hand; Cum.4 n.Yks.2 I went ower te Kirby hand. w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. They moight get th' job done gradely nigher hant than Gratna Green, Banks Forbidden (1885) xxv. 11. A shoulder of pork, when cut as a joint without the blade-bone. Gen. in phr. a hand of pork. N.I.1 A ham made from the fore-leg of a pig. s.Don. Simmons Gl. (1890). Not. (J.H.B.), Lin. (W.W.S.), Nhp.1, War.2 War.3 Oxf.1 MS. add. Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.1, e.Suf. (F.H.), w.Som.1 12. The fore upright of a gate. Nhb.1 ‘Hand and har,’ front and back uprights. 13. A measure for water-cress. Lon. We buy the water-cresses by the‘ hand’. One hand will make about five halfpenny bundles, Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) I. 150. 14. v. Phr. (1) to hand about, to escort a lady; (2) hand out, to distribute; (3) hand up, to summon, bring up before a magistrate; (4) hand me down, any article purchased secondhand or ready made; any odd-looking garment; (5) hand-me-down looking, worthless, good-for-nothing in appearance. (1) Nrf. We met several young couples out for a walk. ‘Dash it, master, they fare to be a-handing 'em about to-night’ (W.R.E.). (2) n.Lin.1 Ey, Miss, it's Loord 'at hands oot iv'rything 'e riches an' poverty, an' sickness an' health. (3) Suf. If you do... I'll hand you up before the justice, Strickland Old Friends (1864) 9. (4) Dmb. Och try nae mair a han-me-down, But tryst ta braw new clock, Taylor Poems (1827) 110. N.I.1 Whar did ye get that auld hand ma doon of a coat? Nhp. N. & Q. (1878) 5th S. ix. 263. [Amer. Kansas Univ. Quar. (1892) I.] (5) Lnk. Ye've maybe heard o' the braw troot that a lang-haired han'-me-doon looking creatur' pented on the shutter o' the box-bed in the Gledshaw kitchen, Fraser Whaups (1895) 188. 15. To sign. e.An.1 They made me hand a paper. 16. To act as second in a fight either between men or cocks. s.Don. Simmons Gl. (1890). Wil.1 n.Wil. I'll hand 'e, if you be gwain to fight un (E.H.G.). Hence Handler or Handler, sb. (1) a second in a fight; (2) the adviser of a competitor in a ploughing-match. (1) Nhb. A famous ‘handler’ who died not long ago had but to make his appearance at the [church] door, and the usually long sermon, and prayer almost as long, were abridged, the sleepy congregation... would be seen making for a well-known rendezvous, where mains were often fought on Sunday afternoons, Longman's Mag. (Feb. 1897) 331. n.Lin.1, sw.Lin.1, Hrf.1 Wil. Britton Beauties (1825); Wil.1 n.Wil. Who's agwain to be hander thun? (E.H.G.) (2) Gall. Every competitor has a friend, a ploughman, to help and advise him during the competition, who is called a ‘hander.’ The friend walks beside the competitor, and is of special service in the opening up of the first furrow, and at the ends of each furrow (A.W.).

HAND, sb. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Dur. Yks. Pem. Oxf. Suf. Som. Also in forms haand Sh.I.; han Sc. Irel. Dur.

1. In comb. (1) Hand-barrow, a tray with four projecting handles carried by the hands; (2) Hand-bolts, handcuffs; (3) Hand-dressings, manure spread by hand; (4) Hand-gripe or Hand-gripy, to reap wheat, &c. grasping the corn with the left hand as it is cut; (5) Hand-horse, the horse that walks next to the shaft-horse in a wagon team; see Hand, sb. 9; (6) Hand-leathers, a leather covering for the hands of shoemakers, dock labourers, &c.; (7) Hand-leeks, mittens; (8) Hand-money, obs., ready money, money in hand; (9) Hand-reel, an old reel or machine, used for winding and numbering the hanks of yarn; (10) Hand-running, in succession; (11) Hand-shackles, see (2); (12) Hand-stroke, the smallest possible amount of work; (13) Hand-tied, very busy, hands fully occupied with work; (14) Hand-turf, the sods or little brick-shaped masses of peat, used for burning, made with the hand from half liquid bog-stuff, and dried; (15) Hand-wrist, the wrist; (16) Hands-in-pocket, (a) the long stalk of the leaves of the horse-chestnut tree; (b) the game played with the stalk; (17) Hand-in-pockets, doing nothing, standing idle. (1) n.Yks. (I.W.) (2) Som. (W.F.R.) (3) n.Cy. Rape dust, soot, woolen rags, and other expensive hand dressings, Hunter Georg. Ess. (1803) I. 42. (4) Som. (W.F.R.) (5) Suf. Rainbird Agric. (1819) 292, ed. 1849. (6) Cum. A dock labourer... in his working clothes, his sleeves being doubled up and his ‘hand leathers’ in his hand, W. Cum. Times (Apr. 30, 1904) 3. (7) Sh.I. (A.W.) (8) Lnk. It will be best for you to block [bargain] with him, when you want hand-money, Walker in Biog. Presb. (ed. 1827) I. 96. (9) Wgt. Saxon Gall. Gossip (ed. 1878) 778. (10) Ir. Mrs. Flannery sat up wid the crathur two nights hand-runnin', Barlow Shamrock (1901) 181. (11) n.Yks. (I.W.) (12) Ker. 'em that don't do a han's-sthroke for what they ate an' dhrink, Bartram W. Boy (1898) 10. (13) Dur. I was thinkin' ye'll be han'-tied, an' I'll relieve ye a little bit if ye'll let me! Guthrie Kitty Fagan (1900)
2. (14) s.Ir. (P.W.F.) (15) Pem. (J.S.O.T.) (16, a) Oxf. So called because children flick one another with the stalk, crying as they do so,‘ Hands in pocket’ (G.O.). (b) G.O. (17) w.Yks. I've heard folk say I do nowt just because they’ve seen me hands-i'-pockets time an' time, Sutcliffe Shameless Wayne (1900) 118.
3. Phr. (1) any handfirst, ready and prepared for any undertaking; (2) in hand, in charge, going on; (3) to have a hand in the pie, to have some concern or interference in the matter; (4) out of hands, completed, finished; (5) to take through hands, (a) to take to task; to punish, beat; (b) to take charge of, take a matter in hand and carry it through. (1, 2, 3, 4) n.Yks. (I.W.) (5, a) Ah teeak him through hands for stealing, I.W. (b) T'justices hez t'trial through hands, I.W.
4. Handwriting, signature. n.Yks. (I.W.) 4. pl. Fig. See below. Sh.I. We hed da half o' her ta da voar, an' she haed fir her voar-fee tree shillins, twa pair o' rivlins, an' her haands, an' büst hae her tae four times a-day ower an' abune a' dis, Stewart Tales (1892) 247; The servant was allowed so much money and her ‘haands,’ i.e. the use of her hand for her own benefit during spare time or when not engaged in her master's work (J.S.).

Source Century Dictionary ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_Dictionary )

Source General View of the Agriculture of Wiltshire Thomas Davis 1811