upper hand

American  

noun

1. the dominating or controlling position; advantage.

   to have the upper hand in the fight.

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upper hand British  

noun

1. the position of control; advantage (esp in the phrases have or get the upper hand )

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upper hand Idioms  

1. Also, whip hand. A dominating or controlling position, as in Once you let Jeff get the upper hand there'll be no stopping him, or When it comes to checkers, my son-in-law generally has the whip hand. The first term alludes to an ancient game in which each player in turn grasps a stick with one hand, beginning from the bottom, and the last who can put his hand at the top wins. Its figurative use dates from the late 1400s. The variant alludes to the driver who holds the whip in a horse-drawn vehicle; it was being used figuratively by the late 1600s.

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Etymology

Origin of upper hand

First recorded in 1475–85

Example Sentences

Still, it made the action utterly compelling and, as usual, Australia ended with the upper hand.

From BBC

“Workers had the upper hand in the labor market, but today is more balanced and perhaps more skewed toward employers.”

From MarketWatch

Or maybe it’s not kindness at all but, rather, a way to reassure herself that she will always have the upper hand.

From Los Angeles Times

So far this year, dividend yield has held the upper hand.

From Barron's

Toll Brothers, which is focused on the more expensive end of the real-estate market, has an upper hand because it serves a wealthier customer who is less impacted by affordability pressures, Yearley said Monday.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• advantage
• dominance
• leverage
• superiority
• supremacy