Meaning of out of hand | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Without (further) thought or consideration.
2. Immediately, forthwith, or incontinently.
   archaic

Examples

“The questions covered ranged from those that could be answered out of hand, through those requiring some thought and at least a second interview, to those which presented matters for further research⟳ in theoretical statistics.”

“I still think⟳ that advice is sound⟳, because, if justices do decide⟳ a case out of hand on the complainant's case, it is argued, as in the present⟳ appeal, that they have⟳ ruled, as a matter⟳ of law, that there was no case to answer⟳.”

“Near-synonym: offhand”

“He bad to open⟳ wyde his brazen gate, / Which long time had bene shut⟳, and out of hond / Proclaymed ioy and peace through all his state [...].”

“Now any Man finding in hot Blood, one who with a fore-thought Felony hath murthered his Daughter, may, without tying himself to the Formalities and Circumstances of a Legal Proceeding, kill⟳ him on a sudden, and out of hand, without incurring any hazard of being attainted and apprehended by the Officers of Justice for so doing.”

CEFR level