underhand

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   dishonest, secretive, or deceitfully indirect

   The underhand scheme concealed fees from every customer.

2. 2
   adv

   in a secret, sly, or dishonest manner

   They obtained the documents underhand and refused to identify their source.

3. 3
   adj

   performed with the hand moving forward from below shoulder level

   She used an underhand serve to place the ball softly over the net.

A compound of under + hand. The literal athletic sense describes a motion made with the hand below the shoulder. The older figurative senses associate a low or concealed hand movement with secrecy and dishonest action, giving the adjective and adverb meanings 'sly' and 'secretly.'

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