UPPER HAND Definition & Meaning

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upper hand

noun

the dominating or controlling position; advantage.
to have the upper hand in the fight.

upper hand

noun

the position of control; advantage (esp in the phrases have or get the upper hand )

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of upper hand¹

First recorded in 1475–85

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, whip hand. A dominating or controlling position, as in Once you let Jeff get the upper hand there'll be no stopping him, or When it comes to checkers, my son-in-law generally has the whip hand. The first term alludes to an ancient game in which each player in turn grasps a stick with one hand, beginning from the bottom, and the last who can put his hand at the top wins. Its figurative use dates from the late 1400s. The variant alludes to the driver who holds the whip in a horse-drawn vehicle; it was being used figuratively by the late 1600s.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood had shared a stand of 59 for Australia's last wicket in the morning session of day three which appeared to give them the upper hand.

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An ugly night of vandalism, burglaries and clashes in downtown Los Angeles left city officials struggling to get the upper hand after three days of scattered unrest over immigration raids.

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The Bears conceded they were underdogs coming into the match yet had the upper hand in terms of head-to-heads, having won five of their past six Premiership meetings.

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The first set headed to a tie-break after only one unconverted break point for the favourite, but it was Shelton who initially gained the upper hand.

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But now those working in the field fear that North Korea is gaining the upper hand.

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Related 51�Թ�s

advantage��
dominance��
leverage��
superiority��
supremacy��

Upper Egypt upper house

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