lone hand
- noun
- He is a lone hand in the team.
Examples
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Many people prefer working as a lone hand.
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As a lone hand, she found it difficult to fit into group activities.
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He always prefers to be a lone hand at work, tackling projects without any help.
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The detective was known as a lone hand, rarely partnering with colleagues.
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As someone who enjoys solitude, she often chooses to take the lone hand in her projects.
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He has always been a lone hand, preferring to navigate challenges by himself.
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Being a lone hand, she rarely asks for help, believing she can manage on her own.
Synonyms
A person who prefers to be alone and avoids spending time with others
A person who prefers being alone or small groups and feels tired by social activity
A person who prefers to do things alone rather than with others
A person who acts alone to solve problems
A person who lives alone and avoids the company of others
Antonyms
How Independent
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a person who prefers to act alone' is directly derivable from combining 'lone' (alone) with 'hand' (a person/worker); the adjective-noun composition follows standard, transparent semantic composition. While 'hand' as 'person/worker' is slightly colloquial, the overall sense is predictable for a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings.
Etymology
Lone hand comes from the picture of one hand working by itself, a simple image of a person doing a job without help. That's why lone hand means someone who prefers to act 'alone' or 'by themselves'.