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Glite Dictionary
😏 Indirect or insincere 🎾 With back of hand
backhanded

backhanded

1 6.4
A racket stroke played with the back of the hand moving across the body
  • adjective
  • /ˈbækˌhændɪd/
translation icon : de revés
  • He pivoted to his left to return it with a backhanded stroke.
  • make a backhanded

Examples

  • "Yow!" Windy hopped away with a splash, bared her teeth, and smacked him with a backhanded swing.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Sena Acolatse tied the game at 14:01 with a power play goal, his first goal of the season, after rushing down the left side, cutting in front, and snapping off a quick backhanded shot that went off Visentin's glove and into the net.

    Blog text (27)

  • The troop captain, shrugging as if obliged to deal with a tiresome hindrance, brought up his sword and launched a sweeping, backhanded blow.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • For example, Maddox and colleagues (1999) found that participants who first practiced a backhanded tennis swing while focusing on the trajectory of the ball were later more successful at forehanded swings than participants who focused on the ball-racket contact point.

    Academic text (2011)

  • He pivoted to his left to return it with a backhanded stroke.

  • Wong was there behind second base to make a backhanded play and steal a single from Cespedes, ending the inning.

  • Jordan made a diving, backhanded catch to rob the batter of a hit.

Synonyms

backhand
vsbackhanded
4.8

A hit with the back of the hand facing the ball across the body

is the same stroke but functions as an adjective describing the action

Antonyms

forehanded
7.0

A racket hit when the palm faces the way the ball goes

Compounds

backhanded compliment
  • Offensive
2 7.5

A remark that sounds like praise but secretly insults someone

Surface Forms

backhanded positive

Morphology

backhanded = backhand (transparent) = back + hand + ed

Formed from the noun 'backhand' with the adjectival suffix '-ed'; the meaning 'made with a backhand' is a direct, literal derivation.

Etymology

Backhanded for a racket stroke comes from the simple parts back and hand. You hit with the 'back' of your 'hand' while moving across the body, so the name tells you how the stroke is made.