SINGLE-HANDED

The term “single-handed” (or “singlehanded”) can be used in two ways.

 (1) It can mean used or intended to be used with one hand.

 Examples

“The dial system is designed for single-handed use, so you don’t need to stop your bike every time you need to adjust the fit.”

 “That aside, both browsers can be easily used single-handed.”

 “KeyBlock is easy to use single-handed, leaving your other hand free to carry the shopping, open the door for your partner or keep your child close.”

 (2) Alternatively, it can mean done alone, without help from anyone else.

 Examples

 “However, he always puts in maximum effort and is capable of taking on a team single-handed.”

 “The Next Generation was the series that gave us shipboard counselling (a questionable idea), a crew that liked each other (a catastrophically mistaken idea) and Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard, who held the entire farrago together, pretty much single-handed, for seven seasons.

 “As penance for my reservations, I am now planning to row, single-handed, from the mouth of Loch Sunart across the Sound of Mull to Tobermory.”


 Photo credit: Moss (Creative Commons)