The photo exhibit on hands made me wonder about expressions we use about hands, like “lend a (helping) hand.” Who first said it? It makes no sense, we can’t give our hand to someone else for them to use and return, which is my understanding of the word lend, or does that word have other meanings that would make sense?

When did clapping hands become a sign of approval?

Hands can also be used to hurt and harm, (slap, strangle, choke, pinch, hit, punch). When we stopped using the word “helping” and just say “lend a hand,” couldn’t we mean for these other uses?

Where did “hired hand” originate? Why do we use hand in “handsome”? Why wasn’t it “footsome” or some other body part?

Of course “handwriting” makes sense. What about “handy” and the words from it “handyman,” “handicap?”

The later is an interesting word. When you cap something you are stopping it so “handicap” meant not being to use hands originally and then it came to mean any physical disability.