right-hand man

noun

1. an indispensable or invaluable assistant; right hand.

Word History and Origins

Origin of right-hand man¹

First recorded in 1655–65

Idioms and Phrases

Also, right-hand woman. A trusted helper, as in Give it to Jill, she's my right-hand man. Based on the idea that in most people the right hand is the stronger of the two, this idiom today usually disregards gender, as in the example. However, in the the 17th and 18th centuries it also meant a soldier in a post of command on the right side of a cavalry unit, and then always denoted a man. [c. 1800]

Example Sentences

Instead, in early February, Justice Phil Berger Jr., Newby’s right-hand man and presumed heir on the court, circulated a draft of a special order agreeing to the rehearing, sources familiar with the matter said.

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Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tapped the phone of Morgan’s right-hand man, Kenneth Bash, according to an agent’s affidavit that was filed in federal court.

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The candidate he hopes will replace him comes from his staff, his deputy chief of staff, Jose Ugarte, who has been referred to in the past as Price’s “right-hand man.”

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Munger, the son of a billionaire who was the right-hand man of investor Warren Buffett, declined to comment about whether he planned to give additional funds.

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The UK is "out of whack" with other countries, according to Sir Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister who later became right-hand man to Zuckerberg.

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