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3. hand over fist

hand over fist

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hand over fist

Fig. [for money and merchandise to be exchanged] very rapidly. What a busy day. We took in money hand over fist. They were buying things hand over fist.

See also: fist, hand

hand over fist

quickly and continuously A few years ago, those people made money hand over fist. Developers are putting up cheap new houses hand over fist in our town.

See also: fist, hand

hand over fist

if you make or lose money hand over fist, you make or lose large amounts of it very quickly Business was good and we were making money hand over fist.

See also: fist, hand

hand over fist

Rapidly, at a tremendous rate, as in He's making money hand over fist. This expression is derived from the nautical hand over hand, describing how a sailor climbed a rope. [First half of 1800s]

See also: fist, hand

hand over fist

mod. repeatedly and energetically, especially as with taking in money in a great volume. We were taking in fees hand over fist, and the people were lined up for blocks.

See also: fist, hand

hand over fist

At a tremendous rate: made money hand over fist.

See also: fist, hand

hand over fist

Continuously. A sailor hauls in lines (“ropes” to you, landlubbers) not by jerky interrupted pulls, but in a smooth hand-over-hand motion. That's the image applied to people who make money hand over fist, which is how the phrase is most always used.

See also: fist, hand