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Performed by the hand. [Obs.] To draw up and come to handy strokes. Milton.

A child's play, one child guessing in which closed hand the other holds some small object, winning the object if right and forfeiting an equivalent if wrong; hence, forfeit. Piers Plowman.

A fight with the hands; boxing. "Pollux loves handyfights." B. Jonson.

Seizure by, or grasp of, the hand; also, close quarters in fighting. Hudibras.

A blow with the hand.

See Handiwork.

A mixture of strong beer and ginger beer. [Eng.]

Clumsy; awkward; as, an Unhandy man.

Clumsy in performance or manners; unhandy; not dexterous; awkward. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

wanting dexterity, nimbleness, or readiness; stiff; awkward, as if benumbed; unwieldy; unhandy; hence; ill-made, misshapen, or inappropriate; as, a clumsy person; a clumsy workman; clumsy fingers; a clumsy gesture; a clumsy excuse. But thou in clumsy verse, unlicked, unpointed, Hast shamefully defied the Lord's anoint…

Apt; fit; dexterous; clever; handy; spruce; neat. [Archaic or Poetic] "The deftest way." Shak. "Deftest feats." Gay. The limping god, do deft at his new ministry. Dryden. Let me be deft and debonair. Byron.

Ready and expert in the use of the body and limbs; skillful and active with the hands; handy; ready; as, a dexterous hand; a dexterous workman.

Handy; reat; handsome; notable. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

Convenient; suitable; direct; near; handy; dexterous; easy; profitable; cheap; respectable. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

Clever; skillful; dexterous; ready; handy; -- followed especially by at. He . . . is a good workman; a very good tailor. Shak. Those are generally good at flattering who are good for nothing else. South.

In a handy manner; skillfully; conveniently.

The quality or state of being handy.

Dexterous; skillful; handy; ready; convenient; -- applied to things as persons. [Obs.] That they [engines of war] be both easy to be carried and handsome to be moved and turned about. Robynson (Utopia). For a thief it is so handsome as it may seem it was first invented for him. Spenser.

A small machine or handy tool; esp.: (Metal Working)

ainst the thrust and close, commanded three Batavian cohorts . . . to draw up and come to handy strokes. Milton.