hand over fist
5
5.9
- idiom
- Informal
:
rápidamente
- Boy, this guy was making money hand over fist.
- make money hand over fist
- money hand over fist
- losing money hand over fist
So yeah, colleges are making money hand over fist.
- So yeah, colleges are making money hand over fist.
- Massive carbon tech capture technology loses money hand over fist.
- I was already making money hand over fist just on the actual squares that I bought and the bags of their coin that my friend had to tell me were there.
Examples
-
Granted, Apple will still make money hand over fist, but will either minimally increase their global market share or keep it static.
Blog text (17) -
and make money hand over fist selling lemonade to the tourists.
Fiction book (1999) -
The others are losing money hand over fist.
Blog text (30) -
So right now I'm making money hand over fist for the same reason.
-
I think the Democrats will win, and new jobs will be created hand over fist in renewable energy.
Blog text (12) -
Obama: "Banks were making money hand over fist to make profits."
Blog text (28) -
The format made money hand over fist when advertisers weren't paying attention to where their ads were getting placed.
Blog text (32) -
After WW2, everyone was making money hand over fist, and GM became known as "Generous Motors."
Blog text (29) -
People come here and are making gobs of money hand over fist. That's the real America, so go ahead and deprive these former 2nd and 3rd Worlders of their chance to finally have a piece of the pie.
Blog text (17) -
After the new product launch, the company started making money hand over fist.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
At a fast speed or without delay
446
1.4
In a very short time
84
1.0
Quickly and smoothly
27
3.7
Very quickly and without delay
In a very short time
Very quickly and in a hurry
Happens very quickly
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
hand + over + fist
The meaning 'very quickly' or 'rapidly acquiring money' is not derivable from the literal parts 'hand' + 'over' + 'fist'—there is no obvious compositional logic linking those body-part words to speed or rapid gain. This is an idiomatic, historically rooted phrase whose sense is unpredictable for a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words, so it should be rated opaque.
Etymology
Hand over fist may come from the image of pulling on a rope, where one hand passes over the other and moves fast. People used that same quick picture for money and success, so the phrase now means 'very quickly', especially for getting money.