cack-handed

American  

[kak-han-did] / ˈkækˈhæn dɪd /

adjective

Chiefly British Informal.

1. clumsy; lacking skill with the hands.

2. left-handed.

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cack-handed British  

/ ˌkækˈhændɪd /

adjective

1. left-handed

2. clumsy

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Etymology

Origin of cack-handed

First recorded in 1850–55; origin uncertain; perhaps from Old Norse keikr “bent backwards”; akin to Danish keite “left-handed”; perhaps from English dialect cack, keck “awkward” (of unknown origin). An obsolete noun sense “excrement” is found in Old English (in cac-hūs “latrine” ); the obsolete verb sense ( mid-15th century ) appears in Middle English cakken “to void excrement,” from Latin cacāre; akin to Greek kakkân “to void excrement,” Middle Irish cacc “dung,” and perhaps to Greek kakós “bad”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cack-handed

Reform would be the "party of fiscal responsibility", he said and promised to make "big changes... in a careful way, not a cack-handed way".

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

“They play cack-handed, that is to say, they hold the club with the left hand down the shaft and swing it right.”

From Golf Digest ● Apr. 14, 2020

Mr Paterson, a former environment secretary, will warn that "cack-handed" negotiations could have serious consequences for German exporters.

From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2017

The Nikkei is up a smidgeon but the ASX is still trailing at 0.53% down But Beijing’s policy still looks a bit cack-handed to some:

From The Guardian ● Jan. 7, 2016

For all that Blair was slick, actorly and the consummate politician, Brown was morose, cack-handed and sincere.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 31, 2014

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