English Explanatory Dictionary

hands down

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adv
  1. without much effort; easily
  2. by a large margin (in a game or contest)
  3. without question; undoubtedly
  4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hands, down.
verb
  1. third-person singular simple present indicative of hand down

Pronunciation

en-au-hands down.ogg

Word forms

hands down more hands down most hands down hands-down

Etymology

The origin of this colloquialism seems to have its roots in mid-19th century horseracing. When a horse jockey is nearing the finish line far ahead of the competition, "with victory certain", he could drop his hands, relaxing his hold on the reins, and "still win the race". By the late 19th century the phrase was being used in non-racing contexts to mean 'with no trouble at all.'

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