in hand
69
2.1
- idiom
:
bajo control
- OK, with that exciting prospect in hand, I look forward to seeing you on Thursday.
- take matters in hand
And this matter in hand is there for what?
- And this matter in hand is there for what?
- But we have those equations in hand.
- But it's good to come there with some of those skills already in hand.
- It is also not enough to assure interested electors that matters are in hand and being addressed.
- And they've done a test mission and the engineering seems to be at least in principle, in hand.
Examples
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Studio activities can and should be designed to go hand in hand with art-viewing experiences.
Academic text (1992) -
She's been monitoring the situation closely... ...and she assures me that the problem is well in hand.
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OK, so with that in hand, now we can.
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And so with this agreement in hand, we both signed it.
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I got the situation in hand.
-
Steve, I hope you have things well in hand.
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The increase in population goes hand in hand with intensive construction of roads and highways.
Academic text (1993) -
So with that in hand, we think we've narrowed it down further.
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Employee dedication to quality goes hand in hand with management's commitment to TQM.
Academic text (1993) -
The manager confirmed that they have the project in hand and will complete it on time.
Antonyms
How Controlled
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'under control' is metaphorically derived from the literal image of holding something in one's hand (possession/control), so learners who know 'in' (inside) and 'hand' (the body part/holding) can often infer the meaning. However, this is a figurative extension rather than a strictly compositional combination, and the exact pragmatic sense (being managed or dealt with) may not be fully predictable without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The phrase in hand comes from the simple picture of holding a thing in your hand. If you hold something you control it, so in hand came to mean 'under control'.