SeeYouSpeak®
Learn English with video-web lessons!

SLANG (HAND)

hand over
pass on something
“Before I leave, I have to hand over all my work.”

get out of hand
become impossible to manage
“You'll have to deal with this problem before it gets out of hand.”

have your hands full
be very busy
“I can't do anything about it now - my hands are full.”

in hand
under control
“The company report is in hand - you'll have it next week.”

live hand to mouth
only earn enough money for food
“After he lost his job, he had to live hand to mouth for a couple of months.”

have someone in the palm of your hand
have influence over someone
“He's got her in the palm of his hand.”


be caught red-handed
be caught in the action of doing something (usually negative)
“The children were caught red-handed picking the flowers.”