at second hand

Idioms  

1. Received from some source other than the original. For example, I learned of Mary's divorce at second hand. This phrase may be applied to information or to previously owned merchandise. [1400s] Also see at first hand.

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Example Sentences

Spiegelman gingerly unpacks the title poem from that book, calling it “autobiographical, perhaps at second hand, but not revelatory.”

From Washington Post • Mar. 3, 2023

The challenge is one that doesn’t trouble Jackson, at second hand; he takes the camera’s ability to reach the soldiers’ experience, and his own power to transmit it, for granted.

From The New Yorker • Feb. 19, 2019

Carol’s feelings, while equally intense, are more elusive, partly because the reader experiences them at second hand, from Therese’s point of view.

From New York Times • Nov. 19, 2015

“Shakespeare and Milton are above the range of honest folk, the Bible they are often content to take at second hand, but brings grandeur nearer our common dust.”

From Slate • Mar. 26, 2013

His experience was limited and he knew only at second hand that they need not lie down.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan