topic at hand
5
3.4
- noun
:
tema en cuestión
- Stay focused on the topic at hand.
Now moving on to the main topic at hand.
- Now moving on to the main topic at hand.
- When you're having a discussion, the discussion should be about the topic at hand, right?
- So getting back to the topic at hand, which is what's his view or how he views a good woman.
Examples
-
In Our Time is that its guests are always real experts on the topic at hand.
Blog text (1) -
We need to focus on the topic at hand to make progress in our meeting.
-
And it's got nothing to do with the topic at hand.
Blog text (25) -
I discussed the topic at hand; you have turned your comments into a personal attack on me.
Blog text (22) -
So getting back to the topic at hand, which is what's his view or how he views a good woman.
-
Comments should be relevant to the topic at hand and contribute to its discussion.
Blog text (26) -
Inquiry improves writing by helping one learn more about the topic at hand.
Academic text (2011) -
Let's stick to the topic at hand rather than discussing each other personally, shall we?
Blog text (26) -
The topic at hand is the implications of NAFTA's extension with Chile and other countries.
Academic text (1997) -
Each learner develops personal expertise in the topic at hand and adds that expertise to the pool to create collaborative intelligence.
Academic text (2011)
Synonyms
∞
3.0
An important topic or problem people discuss
∞
1.0
The subject or topic being discussed
∞
2.0
A topic people discuss or deal with
∞
2.7
A topic that people discuss or think about
∞
1.0
A subject that people discuss, write about, or study
72
3.8
The main topic a talk, book, or picture is about
9
2.1
A subject people talk about in a conversation
How Current
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'topic' = subject and 'at hand' conveys something that is present or currently available, so a learner who knows the constituents can infer 'the subject currently being discussed'. The locative/metaphorical pattern 'X at hand' (meaning 'X is present/current') is common cross-linguistically, supporting immediate comprehension by a B1 learner.
Etymology
Topic at hand comes from the simple picture of something at hand—near your hand and easy to reach. That image shows the issue is present and ready to deal with, so the phrase means the 'subject that is currently being discussed'.