to have a handle on
16
4.2
- phrasal verb
:
entender
- Wayne Lutton at Social Contract has a pretty good handle on what happened.
- have a good handle on
Somehow ancient folks had a better handle on human nature than we do now.
- Somehow ancient folks had a better handle on human nature than we do now.
- You really have a handle on the spins relative to each other.
- And to do that, you really have to have a handle on your credit and debt situation.
- They say there was a time where the thinking was that powers that be had a handle on what was going on in the world, but they say something happened.
- He didn't have a handle on what had caused the problem and what the solution was yet.
- They do not have a handle on their own value, don't have a sense of self advocacy, and may enter into suboptimal contracts and agreements.
- So you've got to watch the interview because like you, I kind of thought I had a handle on how fast this is moving my whole interview.
Examples
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And to do that, you really have to have a handle on your credit and debt situation.
-
To succeed in this project, we must have a handle on all the details from the start.
-
You seemed to have a handle on it.
-
Because I would need to try to have a handle on it within a month.
-
I am just now beginning to feel I have somewhat of a handle on time management and organization.
Blog text (22) -
I prefer to have a handle on the rate at which my baby boy grows up.
Blog text (29) -
Some Republicans, especially among the governors, have a better handle on the real world that they are working in.
Blog text (9) -
I just don't think I have a good enough handle on this subject.
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Because this is my second year with the same teacher, I have a better handle on how to objectively assess student growth.
Academic text (2014) -
"We don't have a handle on what the artifacts mean yet, because they're still being excavated," Fennell says.
Academic text (2005)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To have the skill to do something
∞
2.1
Deal with a task, person, or situation
29
4.8
Can find things and use a place or topic easily
15
6.7
To understand a situation or subject well
3
3.2
To deal with a problem or difficult event well
Antonyms
How Clear
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is closely related to the constituent 'handle' (manage/deal with), so a learner who knows 'have' (possess) and 'handle' (manage) can partly infer that 'have a handle on' means to be able to manage or grasp something. However, the construction uses a nominalized/metaphorical sense of 'handle' plus the preposition 'on', which is somewhat idiomatic and not fully predictable without prior exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Have a handle on comes from the idea of a handle you can hold to control a tool or a box, so if you can hold it you can keep it steady. So, to 'have a handle on' something means to 'understand' it or 'be able to deal with' it.