second hand

Speech parts

1. second hand - Noun

2. second hand - Adjective

3. second hand - Adverb

Meaning

hand marking seconds on a timepiece

an intermediate person; used in the phrase `at second hand'

from a source of previously owned goods

Alternative names

second-hand

Synonyms

Antonyms

Hypernyms

Hyponyms

Examples

Trying to determine what is going on in the world by reading newspapers is like trying to tell the time by watching the second hand of a clock. Ben Hecht

Newspapers are the second hand of history. This hand, however, is usually not only of inferior metal to the other hands, it also seldom works properly. Arthur Schopenhauer

Newspapers are the second hand of history. Arthur Schopenhauer

The critic lives at second hand. He writes about. The poem, the novel, or the play must be given to him; criticism exists by the grace of other men's genius. George Steiner

I can tell you that second hand smoke is not a health hazard to anyone and never was, and the EPA has always known it. Michael Crichton

Writing seems to rob me of my being: it is a second hand mode of communication, a pallid, mechanical transcript of speech, and so always at one remove from my consciousness. Terry Eagleton

Close letter words and terms