a handle on

*a handle on something

Fig. a means of understanding something; an aid to understanding something. (*Typically: get ~ have ~ give someone ~.) Let me try to get a handle on this. Now that I have a handle on the concept, I can begin to understand it.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Dobbs	[dɔbz]
Adam	A-dəm (English), a-DAWN (French), AH-dahm (German, Polish), AH:-dahm (Dutch), ah-DAHM (Russian, Ukrainian)	English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainia
Vahid	-	Persian
Rico (2)	REE-ko	Italian
Melika	-	Hawaiian
Cynesige	-	Anglo-Saxon