{"id":10467,"date":"2022-11-16T22:55:37","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T22:55:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=10467"},"modified":"2022-11-16T22:55:37","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T22:55:37","slug":"are-you-in-good-hands-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/are-you-in-good-hands-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You in Good Hands? \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Is your grandmother in hospital after suffering a fall? Do you want to know if the staff is taking care of her? The phrase \u201c<strong>Are you in good hands?<\/strong>\u201d is a great way to ask this question. Read on to learn more about the meaning and origin of this popular idiom.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p>The idiomatic phrase \u201c<strong>in good hands<\/strong>\u201d means <u>under the care or guidance of capable, professional, caring, and trustworthy people<\/u>.<\/p>\n<p>The question, \u201c<strong>Are you in good hands?<\/strong>\u201d is one of the most common forms of this phrase, but you can also say, among other variations:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>I am in good hands.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>[Someone else] is in good hands.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>[I want someone else] to be in good hands.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Instead of \u201cbeing in good hands,\u201d you can also speak of \u201c<strong>being in safe hands<\/strong>.\u201d This variation emphasizes safety rather than goodness. It focuses on the skill and professionalism of those caring for the person.<\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>Would you like to use the phrase \u201cin good hands\u201d in a sentence? These examples show how it\u2019s done:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cYou can rest assured that your children <strong>are in good hands<\/strong> at Littlewoods Daycare because we meticulously vet our staff and have rigorous safety protocols.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201c<strong>Are you sure you are in good hands<\/strong> with that doctor? He didn\u2019t take you seriously when you told him about your headaches last time.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThe last few years have been bumpy, and the team has never sunk lower. We are confident that <strong>you will be in good hands<\/strong> with Coach Smith and that things will only get better from here.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The meaning of the phrase \u201c<strong>in good hands<\/strong>\u201d is crystal clear.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Cambridge Dictionary<\/em> defines \u201cin good hands\u201d as \u201cmanaged or cared for with great attention.\u201d According to Merriam-Webster, \u201cin good hands\u201d means \u201cin the care of a person or people who are able to take care of someone or something well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The origins of the phrase are much less clear, however.<\/p>\n<p>One of the earliest print references to the phrase dates to <strong>1967<\/strong>, when aviation expert Frank Harvey said, \u201cYou\u2019re in good hands with General Disosway.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn good hands\u201d was likely used much earlier and may point to the fact that many professionals, including craftspeople, doctors, and nurses, rely on their hands to perform their jobs.<\/p>\n<p>The phrase \u201c<strong>in safe hands<\/strong>\u201d is a variation of \u201cin good hands\u201d and has a much longer history.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn safe hands\u201d may have originated with the saying \u201ca safe pair of hands,\u201d a cricket-related phrase that describes a skilled and talented catcher who could contribute to countless successful matches.<\/p>\n<p>James Pycroft\u2019s 1854 book <em>The Cricket Field: Or, The History and the Science of the Game of Cricket included this phrase. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Wherever the phrase \u201cin good hands\u201d came from, it remains popular. Nearly everyone will understand you if you choose to use this saying.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Are You in Good Hands<\/h2>\n<p>You can talk about being in <strong>safe, capable, or excellent hands<\/strong> as well as good hands.<\/p>\n<p>You could also ask if the professional taking care of someone or guiding them is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The best person for the job.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The right fit.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Are You in Good Hands<\/h2>\n<p>If you are not in good hands, the person or team of people taking care of you may:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Display \u201c<strong>red flags<\/strong>,\u201d indicators that something is wrong.<\/li>\n<li>Be \u201c<strong>quacks<\/strong>,\u201d a phrase used to describe terrible medical workers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What Is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<p>The correct saying is \u201c<strong>in good hands<\/strong>.\u201d The question, \u201c<strong>Are you in good hands?<\/strong>\u201d is a common variation. It asks if the person is receiving proper care.<\/p>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Are You in Good Hands Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>The phrase \u201cin good hands\u201d has nothing to do with a person\u2019s hands and everything with the quality of care they provide.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Are You in Good Hands<\/h2>\n<p>You can ask someone if they are in good hands when you inquire about the quality of the care they receive. The question \u201cAre you in good hands?\u201d typically relates to the services professionals like doctors, lawyers, accountants, and nurses provide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Is your grandmother in hospital after suffering a fall? Do you want to know if the staff is taking care of her? The phrase \u201cAre you in good hands?\u201d is a great way to ask this question. Read on to learn more about the meaning and origin of this popular idiom. Meaning The idiomatic phrase [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10467"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10467"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10469,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10467\/revisions\/10469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}