Hand
Giving a hand up is to offer help. A hand out is a gift to the needy. A hand me down is getting my siblings clothes as I get to be their size. A back hand is to swing a racket, as in tennis or squash, starting across my body on the opposite side and swinging forward. To give you a backhand is to strike you. To be handy is to be able to do many things, such as repairs around the house
A hand off is a transfer and it implies being helpful about it. A hand over, on the other hand, is more like just giving something to another, as in ‘hand it over’. On the other hand means taking an alternative approach/view. A ranch hand is a person who helps with the basic work on the ranch. Hand me the ‘something’ is asking you to give it to me, but with care, don’t just throw it
A hand over involves both the giver and receiver. Both have responsibility to have it go well. If I hand over the reins of my present job and don’t tell you all that is involved or withhold tips or knowledge of various nuances, etc, I have not done a good hand over. Similarly, if I am the receiver and I don’t pay much attention or rush or ignore your comments, that too is not a good handover
A hand is is a prehensile, multi-fingered extremity located at the end of the arm or forelimb of primates such as humans. Wow, what a definition. Did you know that the opposable thumb on the hand is the most powerful feature? And did you know that the koala has two opposable thumbs? The evolution of humanity is in large part due to the evolution of our hands. Couldn’t make tools without them
To have a hand in something is to contribute, or is it to get some cookies out of that jar? In having my hand in developing a concept, for instance, I influence the result and if the result breaks the law I am an accomplice. The hand of God, well, that is a hand that, we believe, does big things. Our hands make and break and give and take. Next to our voice, the hand is the biggest instrument of doing that we have.