backhander

[ bak-han-der ]

noun
  1. a backhanded slap, punch, stroke, or play.

  2. British Slang.

    • a drink served out of turn to a guest as a bottle or decanter is passed around the table during dessert.

    • a bribe.

Origin of backhander

1
First recorded in 1795–1805; backhand + -er1

Words Nearby backhander

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use backhander in a sentence

  • But no vibration of any such impatience was in Merivales voice, and in his words there was no backhander to answer it.

    The Angel of Pain | E. F. Benson
  • He administered a backhander to Elgood as he spoke, and the next minute Charlie, roused beyond all bearing, had knocked him down.

    St. Winifred's | Frederic W. Farrar
  • A few blows of scorn might suffice—a backhander across the snout, a few swishes with a stick, a kick behind when he turned.

    The Devil's Garden | W. B. Maxwell
  • He ended a string of abuse by a vicious backhander, which I failed to entirely avoid.

    The Return of Sherlock Holmes | Arthur Conan Doyle

British Dictionary definitions for backhander

backhander

/ (ˈbækˌhændə) /


noun
  1. a backhanded stroke or blow

  2. informal an indirect attack

  1. slang a bribe

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012