The upper hand

The upper hand
Upper Up"per, a.; comp. of {Up}. Being further up, literally or figuratively; higher in place, position, rank, dignity, or the like; superior; as, the upper lip; the upper side of a thing; the upper house of a legislature. [1913 Webster]

{The upper hand}, the superiority; the advantage. See {To have the upper hand}, under {Hand}. --Jowett (Thucyd.).

{Upper Bench} (Eng. Hist.), the name of the highest court of common law (formerly King's Bench) during the Commonwealth.

{Upper case}, the top one of a pair of compositor's cases. See the Note under 1st {Case}, n., 3.

{Upper covert} (Zo["o]l.), one of the coverts situated above the bases of the tail quills.

{Upper deck} (Naut.), the topmost deck of any vessel; the spar deck.

{Upper leather}, the leather for the vamps and quarters of shoes.

{Upper strake} (Naut.), the strake next to the deck, usually of hard wood, and heavier than the other strakes.

{Upper ten thousand}, or (abbreviated) {Upper ten}, the ten thousand, more or less, who are highest in position or wealth; the upper class; the aristocracy. [Colloq.]

{Upper topsail} (Naut.), the upper half of a double topsail.

{Upper works} (Naut.), all those parts of the hull of a vessel that are properly above water.

{Upper world}. (a) The atmosphere. (b) Heaven. (c) This world; the earth; -- in distinction from the {underworld}. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • (the) upper hand — the upper hand phrase control or an advantage over a person or situation have/​hold the upper hand: Government troops have the upper hand in the offensive. get/​gain/​take the upper hand: Agassi briefly got the upper hand in the second set.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • the upper hand — the advantage, get the jump on    Because you have graduated from college, you have the upper hand …   English idioms

  • the upper hand — AN ADVANTAGE, the edge, the whip hand, a lead, a head start, ascendancy, superiority, supremacy, sway, control, power, mastery, dominance, command. → upper * * * the upper hand : the position of having power or being in control in a particular… …   Useful english dictionary

  • the upper hand — control or an advantage over a person or situation have/hold the upper hand: Government troops have the upper hand in the offensive. get/gain/take the upper hand: Agassi briefly got the upper hand in the second set …   English dictionary

  • The Upper Hand — infobox television show name = The Upper Hand caption = format = Sitcom runtime = 30 minutes creator = starring = Joe McGann Diana Weston Honor Blackman Kellie Bright William Puttock country = United Kingdom network = ITV first aired = May 1,1990 …   Wikipedia

  • the upper hand — it remains to be seen which party will have the upper hand in this election Syn: an advantage, the edge, the whip hand, a lead, a head start, ascendancy, superiority, supremacy, sway, control, power, mastery, dominance, command, leverage …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • the upper hand — noun Advantage or control. There was no refusing him, for he had got the complete upper hand of the community, and the peaceful burghers all stood in awe of him …   Wiktionary

  • gain the upper hand — gain/get the upper hand have the upper hand if someone has the upper hand, they have a position of power and control over someone else, and if an emotion has the upper hand, it controls what you do. Government troops are gradually gaining the… …   New idioms dictionary

  • get the upper hand — gain/get the upper hand have the upper hand if someone has the upper hand, they have a position of power and control over someone else, and if an emotion has the upper hand, it controls what you do. Government troops are gradually gaining the… …   New idioms dictionary

  • have the upper hand — if someone has the upper hand, they have a position of power and control over someone else, and if an emotion has the upper hand, it controls what you do. At half time, the Italian team seem to have the upper hand …   New idioms dictionary

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