The idiom "hand over fist" means rapidly or at a great rate. It describes something increasing or accumulating quickly. It's used to emphasize the speed and extent of growth or profit.
Understanding the Idiom
The phrase evokes the image of someone grabbing something with both hands and pulling it in quickly, resulting in a substantial gain. This visual helps illustrate the rapid accumulation being described.
Examples of "Hand Over Fist" in Context:
- Financial Gain: "The company's profits are growing hand over fist." This indicates a very fast increase in profits.
- Debt Accumulation: "We're sinking into debt hand over fist." This signifies a rapid increase in debt.
- Growth: "The number of subscribers is increasing hand over fist." This shows a significant and speedy rise in subscribers.
- Losing Something: "They were losing money hand over fist." This implies a rapid loss of funds.
The examples provided in the reference highlight this versatility: "We are sinking capital hand over fist...," "the expense is going up hand over fist," "it pays off...hand over fist," and "it has made money hand over fist" all demonstrate the idiom's use to describe rapid increases or decreases, whether of financial resources, expenses, or even numbers of something.
How to Use It in a Sentence
To use "hand over fist" correctly, simply insert it into a sentence where you want to emphasize the rapid accumulation or loss of something. Be sure the context clearly indicates what is increasing or decreasing.
- Correct: "The startup is making money hand over fist."
- Correct: "Our expenses are climbing hand over fist."
- Incorrect: "The cat walked hand over fist." (This makes no sense; the idiom relates to increase/decrease, not locomotion.)
