English

Adjective

lighthanded ‎(comparative more lighthanded, superlative most lighthanded)

1. Alternative form of light-handed
   1. benign and with minimal intervention.
      • 2012, Michael A. Crew, Competition and the Regulation of Utilities, ISBN 1461540488, page 81:

        FERC then drew on a potentially significant dictum from Farmers Union II: "Moving from heavy to lighthanded regulation within the boundaries of an unchanged statute can ... be justified by a showing that under current circumstances the goal and purposes of the statute will be accomplished through substantially less regulatory oversight."

      • 1997, U.S. National Conference on State Parks, Trends, page 33:

        On the other hand, lighthanded methods are believed to have more subtle effects on behaviors, often through influencing attitudes, creating knowledge, or manipulating the environment to accomplish desirable ends.

      • 1979, United States Congress House Committee on Government Operations. Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Subcommittee, Energy Conservation Within the Federal Government: The Department of Energy's Role. Hearings, page 104:

        Does it reflect your position toward the other agencies that, in the words of your Deputy, this program should be as lighthanded as possible?

   2. Sparing.
      • 2014, Donna Lynn Thomas, Quiltmaking Essentials I: Cutting and Piecing Skills, ISBN 1604684410:

        When sewing strip sets, use a lighthanded approach feeding the strips under the presser foot so the crosswise grain isn't stretched.

      • 2014, Marc Twine, Intermission: Volume 1:

        When it came to food, Melissa preferred subtle nuance and lighthanded seasoning.

   3. nimble and dextrous;
      • 1975, Robert I. Levy, Tahitians: Mind and Experience in the Society Islands, ISBN 0226476073, page 44:

        From all evidence he manages the subtle responsibilities of the tdvana role with a delicate and lighthanded virtuosity.

      • 1893, Richard Redgrave, A Catalogue of the National Gallery of British Art at South Kensington, page 19:

        The early works of this painter are a complete study for lighthanded and beautiful execution; they look imitatively perfect, yet many instances are known of his extreme rapidity of execution.

      • 1877, Henry James, Four Meetings:

        Winterbourne constantly attended for news from the sick-room, which reached him, however, but with worrying indirectness, though he once had speech, for a moment, of the poor girl's physician and once saw Mrs Miller, who, sharply alarmed, struck him as thereby more happily inspired than he could have conceived and indeed as the most noiseless and lighthanded of nurses.

   4. Light-hearted.
      • 2004, Willi Goetschel, Spinoza's Modernity: Mendelssohn, Lessing, and Heine, ISBN 0299190838, page 268:

        In recovering the pointedly Spinozist impulse, the deeper critical motivation behind Heine's seemingly lighthanded poetic playfulness comes to the fore.

      • 2003, Ida Friederike Görres, The Hidden Face: A Study of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, ISBN 089870927X, page 112:

        Gaiety and an overflowing, outpouring love, warmth and clarity, a lighthanded ease, replaced the tormented tension of the will which had marked the outgrown stage.

      • 2002, Stephen Windwalker, Selling Used Books Online, ISBN 0971577838, page 62:

        If you live and work in a small town atmosphere and can find acceptable ways to make yourself and your enterprise known in a lighthanded way to either or both groups in your town, you may find that some day down the road one of them will mention you to a family member who has just offhandedly mentioned the need to get rid of a collection of books.

   5. flippant.
   6. (nautical or military) Not having a full complement of workers.
      • 1887, The Contributor: Representing the Young Men's and Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations of the Latter-day Saints, Volume 8, page 168:

        Being so lighthanded the vessel could not be properly managed and could carry but little sail, consequently her progress was but slow.

      • 1836, James Fenimore Cooper, The Water Witch:

        “We will hold on to the last, while he must begin to take in soon, or the squall will come upon him too fast for a light-handed vessel.”

   7. Thieving.
      • 1997 January, Time Carr, “Choosing A Dinghy -- The Hard Way”, in Cruising World:

        Captive rowlocks keep the oars in the boat while you 're rowing and discourage lighthanded hardware seekers when you go ashore.

      • 1922, Van Tassel Sutphen, In Jeopardy, ISBN 1465519297:

        You understand what darkies are—as curious as magpies and quite as lighthanded. If one of them had chanced to see Effingham hiding something behind the clock, he would be sure to investigate for himself at the first convenient opportunity.

      • 1831, Sir Walter Scott, The Pirate:

        Indeed she knew how to make young Deelbelicket, old Dougald Baresword, the Laird of Bandybrawl, and others, pay for the hospitality which she did not think proper to deny them, by rendering them useful in her negotiations with the lighthanded lads beyond the Cairn, who, finding their late object of plunder was allied to "end folks, and owned by them at kirk and market," became satisfied, on a moderate yearly composition, to desist from their depredations.

Adverb

lighthanded ‎(comparative more lighthanded, superlative most lighthanded)

1. Alternative form of light-handed
   1. Carrying very little.
      • 2013, Jack London, The Son of the Wolf, ISBN 1627936629:

        Though he prayed for a moose, just one moose,all game seemed to have deserted the land, and nightfall found the exhausted man crawling into camp, lighthanded, heavyhearted.

      • 1909, Annie Laurie Adams Baird, Daybreak in Korea: A Tale of Transformation in the Far East, page 113:

        The trip was to be a short one this time, and he was going lighthanded, leaving behind him the necessities of life as represented by American articles of diet.

      • 1860, William Peter Strickland, Old Mackinaw, or, The fortress of the Lakes and its surroundings, page 351:

        The true state of the case is, that manufactures, as a general thing, in view of the depressed condition of the trade, have been making calculations to do a light business, and got out their logs sooner than they expected, and will on the whole do rather more than they had anticipated, having gone into the woods lighthanded.

   2. In a light-handed manner.
      • 1919, The Saturday Evening Post - Volume 191, Issues 49-52, page 124:

        He must go lighthanded to whatever it was that impended.

      • 1918, Gerard Manley Hopkins, The Golden Echo:

        See: not a hair is, not an eyelash, not the least lash lost; every hair Is, hair of the head, numbered. Nay, what we had lighthanded left in surly the mere mould Will have waked and have waxed and have walked in the wind what while we slept.