2) The stranded group of tourists knew that help was at hand = a rescue operation to save them was commenced, and the rescue team would soon get the tourists off the island, they knew that =). You can say that retaliation is at hand, help was at hand, keep your tools close at hand (here it's the same as to hand: Sadly, I don't have my wallet to hand) etc.Įxamples: 1) The businessman was afraid that retaliation was at hand = would befall him soon/would soon follow. At hand can refer to time or distance (in close proximity).4) The matter in hand should be smoothed over with senior managers = the matter that is now being settled/the present issue that worries somebody. 3) The troops entered the village to take the situation in hand = to take it under control/to reign it in. 2) We had our kitchen redone and still have some savings in hand = still left (didn't spend all of them). (compare with "in question": the man in question is guilty of ~ the topic in hand is a delicate one).Įxamples: 1) Pupils have over half an hour in hand = left/available/to spare. In hand mainly focuses on abstract things or uncountable things, it can be a situation in hand, an hour in hand, some money in hand, a topic in hand etc.I tried to break down the usage of these three (four if you count "to hand"), hopefully I'm right about it, at least in part :) So here are my thoughts: Go British and make life easier for everyone! In practice few would choose at hand or on hand on the basis of how physically close/accessible something was - largely pointless anyway, since few others would apprehend any subtle distinction being made. OP doesn't mention to hand, which is actually more common than the others in British English (but seemingly quite rare for Americans). Apart from the literal held in the hand, the other common idiomatic usage for this one is that if something is "in hand" it's being actively dealt with (by implication, really close to you), not just sitting on your "to-do" list. Note that "in hand" doesn't actually mean having more time at your disposal - it's just that we often say we have "time in hand" (things in hand can be in reserve, spare).
One thing I would say that "in" usually denotes something closer than "on" (which itself is usually closer than "at"), which is why the "nearby" meanings use the latter two. Especially in respect of "hand", since most of us always have a couple of those about our person ready to be incorporated into our word choices. The way these different prepositions are used is all very much idiomatic, so there will be a limit to how far you can "rationalise" why any particular preposition is associated with any particular meaning.
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