handle

Everyday

1. A handle is the part of a door, cup, pan, bag or tool that you hold. tree →
2. To handle something is to touch it or hold it in your hands. tree →
3. To handle a problem or situation is to deal with it or manage it. tree →
4. A handle can be a name you use online. tree →

In the lessons

In safety, turn pan handles inward on the stove so no one knocks them; hold knives by the handle; «handle with care» on a box means fragile. In science, handle animals and equipment gently and wash hands after handling them. In everyday life, «handle» means cope: «I can handle it». Phrases: «fly off the handle» (suddenly get very angry), «get a handle on» (understand).

Examples

• Turn the door handle to open it. tree →
• Hold the mug by the handle; it is hot. tree →
• Turn the pan handles away from the edge. tree →
• Handle the hamster gently. tree →
• Wash your hands after handling raw meat. tree →
• She handled the problem calmly. tree →
• The handle of my bag broke. tree →
• Can you handle two dogs at once? tree →
• "Here's a cooking utensil with a tin handle." tree →

Note

Countable as a noun: handles. «Handlebars» are the handles on a bike. «Handle» as a verb is regular: handled. «Fly off the handle» is an idiom, not about real handles.

In Jewish tradition

Jubal is called the father of all who play the harp and pipe, the first musicians. In the Prophets and Writings it also means to hold and use something in the hands, such as a bow or a sword, or to touch with the hands, as idols cannot.

Interpretation. The Psalms are read as mocking idols, which have hands that cannot touch or do anything.

Examples

• And his brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all such as handle the harp and pipe. (Torah GEN.4.21, JPS 1917) tree →
• The children of Ephraim were as archers handling the bow, that turned back in the day of battle. (Writings PSA.78.9, JPS 1917) tree →
• They have hands, but they handle not; feet have they, but they walk not; neither speak they with their throat. (Writings PSA.115.7, JPS 1917) tree →
• They all handle the sword, and are expert in war; every man hath his sword upon his thigh, because of dread in the night. (Writings SNG.3.8, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Countable as a noun: handles. «Handlebars» are the handles on a bike. «Handle» as a verb is regular: handled. «Fly off the handle» is an idiom, not about real handles.