Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The state or character of being unhandy; want of dexterity; clumsiness.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word unhandiness.

Examples

  • Handiness and unhandiness refer to the availability of one's

    Gabriel (-Honoré) Marcel Treanor, Brian 2004

  • The mate roared with laughter at my unhandiness, encouraging the other men of his watch to join him.

    Black Horses For The King McCaffrey, Anne 1996

  • The luck of the British navy would save them, or the unhandiness of the French.

    Hornblower And The Hotspur Forester, C. S. 1962

  • But at last he started scratching the razor lightly under the chin, and, despite the unhandiness and difficulty of shaving in that quarter without also grasping the organ of smell, contrived, with the aid of a thumb planted firmly upon the cheek and the lower gum, to overcome all obstacles, and bring the shave to a finish.

    Taras Bulba and Other Tales 1952

  • Fortunately Desmond, recognizing the unhandiness of his crew, had taken care to set no more sail than could be shortened at the briefest notice.

    In Clive's Command A Story of the Fight for India Herbert Strang

  • Listing heavily to port, the _Tremendous_ turned with a rapidity that belied her huge bulk and apparent unhandiness.

    The Submarine Hunters A Story of the Naval Patrol Work in the Great War Edward S. [Illustrator] Hodgson 1917

  • The galleys of Octavius were low in the water, and nimble in their handling; those of Antony were bulky and high, with five to ten banks of oars, and their natural unhandiness was made worse by

    A History of Sea Power William Oliver Stevens 1916

  • He continued to laugh as he watched the unhandiness of the man staggering down the gangway under his burden.

    The Man in the Twilight Ridgwell Cullum 1905

  • It may ha 'been from the unhandiness of their movements an' the way they clutched at us an 'at one another as we pulled 'em ashore.

    News from the Duchy Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch 1903

  • But she was saved from reflecting on it overmuch: for Mrs. Grantham (after forty years of comfort without one) had conceived a desire to be waited on and have her hair dressed by a maid, and between Mrs. Grantham's inability to discover precisely what she wanted done by Patty, and Patty's unhandiness in doing it, and Mrs. Grantham's anxiety to fill up Patty's time, and

    Hetty Wesley Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch 1903

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.