hand

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

I am confused by phrases with "hand". Please give me a help.

No.1
"in sb's hand" and "in sb's hands"
According to my dictionary:

be in hand: if a plan or a situation is in hand, it is being dealt with
The arrangements for the party are all in hand so we don't need to worry about that.

be in sb's hands (in my textbook it is "hand"):to be dealt with or controlled by someone
The arrangements for the party are now in Tim's hands.

Does it mean the two are interchangeable? If not could you please explain if there are any differences between the two?

No.2
I'm sorry I don't have enough cash _______ to buy the house.
The textbook adds "off hand" in the blank but I think it should be "in hand". Is that right?

No.3
out of hand: if you refuse something out of hand, you refuse it completely without thinking about it or discussing it
Moving to London is certainly a possibility. I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand.
It seems the phrase means "completely". But in another dictionary there is the sentence "Please wait a minute, I'll go with you out of hand", in which the phrase means "immediately". So what does the phrase mean?

No.4
off one's hand and out of one's hand
off sb's hands: if someone or something is off someone's hands, they are not responsible for them any more
I've got a lot of freedom now the kids are off my hands.
be out of sb's hands: if a problem or decision is out of someone's hands, they are not responsible for it any more
The court will decide how much money you get - the decision is out of our hands.

To me the only difference between the two is that the first one can refer to both people and something while the second one can only refer to something. Does it mean if I refer to something both are correct?

No.5
Could you please explain the difference between "an odd job" and "odd jobs"?
I think the first one mean "only one job" while the second one means " more than one oddjobs" Is that right? If it is does the first one mean a job done at irregular time?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by jiang

Dear teachers,

I am confused by phrases with "hand". Please give me a help.

No.1
"in sb's hand" and "in sb's hands"
According to my dictionary:

be in hand: if a plan or a situation is in hand, it is being dealt with
The arrangements for the party are all in hand so we don't need to worry about that.

be in sb's hands (in my textbook it is "hand"):to be dealt with or controlled by someone
The arrangements for the party are now in Tim's hands.

Does it mean the two are interchangeable? If not could you please explain if there are any differences between the two?

They are similar in meaning, but they are not interchangeable, as your examples show. the first is more general. In the second you are talking about a specific person.

Originally Posted by jiang

No.2
I'm sorry I don't have enough cash _______ to buy the house.
The textbook adds "off hand" in the blank but I think it should be "in hand". Is that right?

No. It should be on hand. The expression is cash on hand.

Originally Posted by jiang

No.3
out of hand: if you refuse something out of hand, you refuse it completely without thinking about it or discussing it
Moving to London is certainly a possibility. I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand.
It seems the phrase means "completely". But in another dictionary there is the sentence "Please wait a minute, I'll go with you out of hand", in which the phrase means "immediately". So what does the phrase mean?

If you reject something out of hand you do so without even bothering to think about it.

Originally Posted by jiang

No.4
off one's hand and out of one's hand
off sb's hands: if someone or something is off someone's hands, they are not responsible for them any more
I've got a lot of freedom now the kids are off my hands.
be out of sb's hands: if a problem or decision is out of someone's hands, they are not responsible for it any more
The court will decide how much money you get - the decision is out of our hands.

To me the only difference between the two is that the first one can refer to both people and something while the second one can only refer to something. Does it mean if I refer to something both are correct?

Generally speaking:

A person or persons is off your hands. Example: "Now that the kids have left the house they are off my hands."

A decision or responsibility is out of your hands. Example: "Now that I have resigned, that decision is out of my hands."

Originally Posted by jiang

No.5
Could you please explain the difference between "an odd job" and "odd jobs"?
I think the first one mean "only one job" while the second one means " more than one oddjobs" Is that right? If it is does the first one mean a job done at irregular time?

Some really odd jobs - CNN.com
20 Odd Jobs
Odd Jobs | My Work, My Way | Reader's Digest
Karen Burns, Working Girl Odd Jobs
Unusual labors of love | lawrence.com
Odd Jobs - washingtonpost.com
Need an odd job? Give blood, watch porn - MSN Money

I think an odd job is an irregular job.

[David L.]

But in another dictionary there is the sentence "Please wait a minute, I'll go with you out of hand",

BURN THAT BOOK and much of your confusion will evaporate. The matter is in your hands.

NB 'out of hand' has two meanings:
If you doubt my advice, all I ask is that you do not dismiss it out of hand, but wait to see what others in this forum think about that book.

and in the phrase 'get out of hand'
The kids started having a pillow fight, but it soon got out of hand and I had to stop them. (the play became too boisterous and the children could have hurt themselves - the hitting each other and running around became so lively that their play was getting out of hand.)

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by David L.

BURN THAT BOOK and much of your confusion will evaporate. The matter is in your hands.

I was thinking that. I just didn't say it.

[banderas]

Originally Posted by David L.

But in another dictionary there is the sentence "Please wait a minute, I'll go with you out of hand",

BURN THAT BOOK and much of your confusion will evaporate. The matter is in your hands.

NB 'out of hand' has two meanings:
If you doubt my advice, all I ask is that you do not dismiss it out of hand, but wait to see what others in this forum think about that book.

and in the phrase 'get out of hand'
The kids started having a pillow fight, but it soon got out of hand and i had to stop them. (the play became too boisterous and the children could have hurt themselves - the hitting each other and running around became so lively that their play was getting out of hand.)

"The crisis obliged him to act out of hand".
What is the meaning here?
The crisis obliged him to act immediately,without delay?
The crisis obliged him to act without even thinking?

As a non-native speakers I don't have much feeling for English idiomatic expressions therefore I asked this question.

[David L.]

As a non-native speakers I don't have much feeling for English idiomatic expressions

You raise a good point, because I have a 'sense' of the use of this expression which might be at odds with others who post here. My 'sense' is that it asks the person not to dismiss what I am saying without at least considering it - so, one rejects a proposal, or advice 'out of hand'. Obviously, this means the person does it quickly/immediately since they need no time to think about it and weigh up its value/merit. This does not make make its meaning equivalent to, and an alternative word for, 'immediately', as in 'he acted out of hand'. My sense there is that 'impulsively' or 'impetuously' would be the better word to express the idea of acting without due thought.

Note: see next two postings below.

[banderas]

Originally Posted by David L.

As a non-native speakers I don't have much feeling for English idiomatic expressions

You raise a good point, because I have a 'sense' of the use of this expression which might be at odds with others who post here. My 'sense' is that it asks the person not to dismiss what I am saying without at least considering it - so, one rejects a proposal, or advice 'out of hand'. Obviously, this means the person does it quickly/immediately since they need no time to think about it and weigh up its value/merit. This does make make its meaning equivalent to, and an alternative word for, 'immediately', as in 'he acted out of hand'. My sense there is that 'impulsively' or 'impetuously' would be the better word to express the idea of acting without due thought..

I am not at odds with you, David. It is worth making sure with a native speaker if one is in doubt. If "out of hand" is equivalent to "immediately" why it doesn't sound ok to say:
just a minute, I''ll go with you out of hand"?I am not in disagreement with you here. I am just trying to find some explanation.but please do not give me this kind of explanation if you do not know :)

" I is " sounds fine to me so why can't I use it - why is it wrong?
We say "he is" and "she is" and 'he' and 'she' are singular - ('they' is plural and takes 'are') - so if 'I' is singular, why can't I use " I is "?
Because it's wrong. It is "I am".
cheers

[David L.]

Obviously, this means the person does it quickly/immediately since they need no time to think about it and weigh up its value/merit. This does make make its meaning equivalent to, and an alternative word for, 'immediately', as in 'he acted out of hand'. My sense there is that 'impulsively' or 'impetuously' would be the better word to express the idea of acting without due thought..

OH DEAR. OH DEAR. The full thrust of my sentence was supposed to be NOT EQUIVALENT - I left out the 'not'!! It should have been,"This does not make its meaning equivalent..."
At least you're on the ball!

I think it best, for further readers, to go back and correct this.

[banderas]

Originally Posted by David L.

OH DEAR. OH DEAR. The full thrust of my sentence was supposed to be NOT EQUIVALENT - I left out the 'not'!! It should have been,"This does not make its meaning equivalent..."
At least you're on the ball! I try to be, I really do.
.

So I conclude that some dictionaries are not very reasonable...giving this example of I'll go with you out of hand. Well...

[David L.]

So I conclude that some dictionaries are not very reasonable

So I conclude that some dictionaries are not very reliable

I looked up 'acted out of hand' on Google and found examples such as, "The police acted out of hand." It seemed to me that they are using 'act out of hand'
in the sense of 'got out of hand' as I defined earlier. It has the meaning that the police, say, where arresting someone, which can require them to show force (eg push the person to the ground and hold them in an arm lock etc ) but that they went too far in how rough they were with the person.