give s/o a warm hand
idiomatic phrase

- to give someone a round of applause or to make him/her feel welcome

—
ORIGIN

Contrary to what one might think, the expression “give a warm hand” does not stem from the heat generated from energetic applause. Here, warm means “friendly, kind, enthusiastic”, etc.

To give someone a warm hand simply means to applaud someone with enthusiasm in order to make them feel welcome.

—
USAGE

“Give a warm hand to…” is typically used when introducing entertainers, speakers, and presenters. Alternative phrases are:

- Give a warm welcome to…
- Give a big round of applause to…
- Show it for…
- Let’s hear it for…
- Put your hands together for…

—
HANDY PHRASES

- get out of hand = to get out of control (The project costs got out of hand and we had to cancel it)

- experience something first-hand = to experience something yourself (We didn’t realize how hard parenting until we experienced it first-hand)

- wash your hands of = to stop being responsible for or involved in something (We washed our hands of the whole situation and started to look for a new developer)

- know like the back of your hand = to know a place very well (She lived here all her life 20 years and knows the village like the back of her hand)

- hands down = obviously, unquestionably, without a doubt (She is hands down the best coach I ever met)

- on the one hand… on the other hand = this expression is used to compare two aspects of a situation (On the one hand l love working here, but on the other hand my salary barely covers my costs)

—
AN ECONOMIST WITH ONE ARM

In a moment of frustration, President Roosevelt once demanded: “Bring me an economist with only one arm! Whenever I ask for a clear decision, they always respond the same: ‘Well, Mr President, on the one hand it’s like this, on the other hand it’s like that’.”

—
SYNONYMS

ovation, handclapping, plaudits, A WARM HAND, cheering, bravos, big hand, round of applause, curtain calls, show of appreciation, bringing down the house, thunderous reception

—
SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“Ladies and gentlemen, please give our new sales manager A WARM HAND!”

—
THANKS to Carolina for suggesting today’s word!

—
HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations at:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-3

Paul Smith