2939 Regression To The Ridiculous.
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In panel one Bridgette says “It’s all I had to hand.” As a Kansas native I use phrases unique to that area, but also to my family, which is a mix of northern and southern American. I’m not sure which group can claim “to hand”. I assume that it’s a Kansas thing because people outside my family used the phrase, but my family also tends to influence others in our sphere by strength of personality. I’m curious if you have heard this phrase where you are, and where you are that you heard it. “At hand”, “on hand”, “in hand”, are all potential regional variations of the same meaning. When spoken Kansans tend to actually pronounce “to hand” as “tuh hand”. It’s possible that the tuh sound is a shortening of some other word and it’s been transliterated to “to” via the more clear manner of speaking my northern relations tend to have. I couldn’t say for sure.
In any case I hope your Wednesday finds you safe and alive. Try to stay that way at least until we can meet again on Friday. As always, if you have the means, i would appreciate it if you would peruse the support links I have left above the blog. Until we meet again, add an extra topping, as a treat.
32 Comments
What’s better than one Alex in a comic panel?
Oh, I know!
TWO Alexes in a comic panel!
I’m from Canada and the standard phrasing I’ve always heard, everywhere in the world (not just Canada) is “on hand.” “At hand” in certain contexts, like “the time is at hand,” but that might be only usable for time-related things. Been a few years since I’ve studied linguistics properly, now I’m curious…
another Canadian; on hand is the usual phrase for having access to resources & at hand has only really been used for matters of timing as well. On the other hand, ‘to hand’ seems perfectly cromulent (thanks Simpsons writers) and has a better mouth feel (though I’d probably pronounce it as ‘tah hand’ in a vaguely southern-esque drawl) than ‘in hand’ which I’ve also only encountered in various foreign media.
amateur language nerd; I think about this stuff, I just don’t actually do any real research
I’m Australian, and ‘to hand’ and ‘on hand’ both sound perfectly idiomatic to me.
I generally prefer “to hand” over “at hand,” at least when referring to available resources, but I don’t believe it’s a regionalism or picked up from my parents so much as osmosed from an abundance of fantasy literature that happened to also favor it. Whether that indicates that it’s widespread or that the fantasy novels of the 20th century were something of an incestuous community, I daren’t speculate.
I routinely use that phrase here in the UK
James May dropped a video yesterday where he says “to hand”.
To this Minnesotan, the only one that seems odd in that context is “in hand.”
But I’ve travelled a bit, have read a great many books, and accumulate regional jargon like [something something something], so I’m not a representative source.
Interesting observation.
…”regional jargon” or, you know, interesting turns-of-phrase. Or invented punch-lines to nonexistent jokes. You betcha….
At Hand is definitely used in the southern part of the UK. I’m sure it’s used in other parts as well, though my experience is a bit more limited with Northern Ireland and Wales
Grew up in New England, “on hand” was how we said it. Though I’ve since moved the Mid-Atlantic and I’ve heard both “on hand” and “at hand”
“To hand” is actually old English correct.
A lot of Eastern Europeans that migrated and learned English learned it as “to hand,” and I think that is just proof that Kansas (and a lot of Great Plains states) was filled with immigrants that learned it that way.
For example – Like a lot of Czechs say “to hand” when the rest of us are used to saying “on hand” or “at hand.”
Growing up in rural Georgia, my grandfolks used “to hand” (or rather “ta han”), and I liked the cadence of it better than “on hand” or “at hand” so that’s what I usually use. Also, Alex getting excited is adorable!
Grew up in Iowa/Illinois. To hand is a phrase I’m familiar with.
Born & grew up in Ohio, where “at hand” was the usual form. I only learned “to hand” from PBS’ British programming imports. Always thought that it was a UK variant. I’m in my 70s and learned something today from this discussion.
Raised in Oklahoma I often say “to hand” except when being formal for work. Then it was “on hand”. For me “to hand” means an available resource, “In hand” means I am actively controlling something.
I just have to say I love your characters. You have given them a full personality where I can surmise somewhat how each will react. I can say with Confidence I would like to have been friends with almost every one of these people, with the exception of Maybe Wess.
And I say this as a 62 year old man
I think “loves ridiculousness” is a wonderful way to phrase it, and I’ve found the ability to take joy in the small and silly things in life, well into your adulthood, is something important and in the right person, absolutely beautiful.
It’s more “on hand” when you get to Illinois or so, but still.
And yes, a little ridiculousness seldom goes amiss.
I’d like to see a mapped breakdown of the usage of “to hand”, like the soda vs. pop vs. coke debate. Wisconsinite here, and I’ve never, ever heard “to hand” to mean “available for immediate use”. Reading that was like someone saying they were waiting “on line”, to mean they were standing in a queue. Or “What kind of coke would you like? We have Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Sprite.”
I like few things about the internet more than the soda v pop v coke maps. And sub v. grinder v. hoagie v. (more) is a close second.
Please, let’s include, as well: sub sandwich v. po boy.
:)
For those who don’t watch cooking programs- “po boys” are sandwiches, similar to subs. Po boys are found in New Orleans, + other parts of Louisiana.
while i was born in Wichita, Kansas, i was adopted, so i grew up and spent my life in Los Angeles, California. the version i hear/use is “at hand” or “on hand”
CA native with north-midwest parents. What I grew up hearing was “…all I had on hand.”
“…all I had to hand” was something I associate with the british way of speaking.
In the Netherlands we would say “voor handen”, what translates as “for hands”.
Niet “voor de hand”? Heeft dat een andere betekenis?
Eígenlijk is het (iets) “voorhanden hebben” (iets beschikbaar hebben) in dit geval. …Als iets “voor de hand” (ligt) gaat dat over iets dat logisch/duidelijk/verzelfsprekend is. :-)
Native Wichitan here. I use both “to hand” and “on hand,” but with different shadings of meaning for each. “To hand” tends to be “what I happen to have close to me,” while “on hand” means “I have it in my inventory.” I’ll very rarely use “at hand,” but only in the sense of “the end was at hand.” Not really sure about the connotation there. I guess maybe it’s something close enough to touch, but it’s not something I can or should use?
This is in keeping with my understanding of all those phrases, although I tend to use them interchangeably if clarity isn’t important at the time.
I’ve lived a lot of places. To my memory at or on hand is fairly interchangeable.
I’ve also heard “in hand”. A reference to reins in horse teams — for example four in hand. Yea, I’m old enough that those still existed when I was young.
Just noticed John is missing his goatee
Aussie here. At hand, on hand, to hand are all used here and are practically synonyms.
Personal usage would be that “to hand” is slightly closer, “to hand” might be on the workbench, “on or at hand” would be somewhere in the shed (workshop).