backhanded

American  

[bak-han-did] / ˈbækˌhæn dɪd /

adjective

1. performed with the hand turned backward, crosswise, or in any oblique direction so that the palm of the hand faces in the direction of the body and the back of the hand faces in the direction of forward movement.

2. sloping in a downward direction from left to right.

   backhanded writing.

3. oblique or ambiguous in meaning; indirect; insincere or malicious; wry.

   backhanded methods; a backhanded compliment.

4. Ropemaking.  noting a rope in which the yarns and the strands are laid in the same direction, the rope itself being laid in the opposite direction.

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adverb

1. with the hand across the body; backhand.

   He caught the ball backhanded.

backhanded British  

/ ˌbækˈhændɪd /

adjective

1. (of a blow, shot, stroke, etc) performed with the arm moving across the body

2. double-edged; equivocal

   a backhanded compliment

3. (of handwriting) slanting to the left

4. (of a rope) twisted in the opposite way to the normal right-handed direction

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adverb

1. in a backhanded manner

Other Word Forms

• backhandedly adverb
• backhandedness noun

Etymology

Origin of backhanded

First recorded in 1790–1800; back ² + handed

Example Sentences

Last Thanksgiving was full of backhanded compliments and pointed remarks.

From MarketWatch

In a 1919 review of a pair of books by Theodore Dreiser, Virginia Woolf issued some exquisitely backhanded praise for the Indiana-born author, whose writing, she thought, stood out for its roughness and vitality.

From The Wall Street Journal

They may also chip away at your mood slowly, through backhanded compliments or pressuring you to be upbeat, where they don't allow you to express how you are really feeling.

From BBC

Between the actors' silent conversations and the nuances of envy and backhanded slights White conveys through dialogue, these friends brutally play out the intimacy gap that can doom vintage friendships.

From Salon

Classics YouTube channel, though these are mostly — maybe entirely — extracted highlights rather than full cartoons, which is its own kind of backhanded insult.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• sarcastic