from the back of one's hand
- idiom
- Informal
:
de memoria
- He knows Paris from the back of his hand after living there for years.
Examples
-
He knows the subway system from the back of his hand because he commutes every day.
-
The technician fixed the problem from the back of his hand, barely needing to look at the manual.
-
She can recite the poem from the back of her hand.
-
He knows the city from the back of his hand.
-
She can recite the poem from the back of her hand!
-
After years of practice, she can play the song from the back of her hand without any mistakes.
-
The chef prepares the dish from the back of his hand, effortlessly blending the ingredients.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Completely, showing strong knowledge or feeling
12
5.4
Know a place or thing very well because you have seen it many times
8
7.5
Learned so well you can do it without thinking
Antonyms
How Familiar
Surface Forms
Morphology
from + the + back + of + one + hand
The meaning 'know something extremely well' cannot be derived from the literal parts 'from', 'back', 'one's', 'hand' — the relation between the back of the hand and familiarity is idiomatic and not compositional. Although many languages have comparable idioms for knowing something well, the specific imagery is language-specific and unpredictable for a B1 learner who has not seen the expression before.
Etymology
From the back of one's hand comes from the simple image that you know the back of your own hand perfectly because it is always with you. So, to know something from the back of your hand means to know it 'very well' and be able to do it easily.