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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary
english usage
Hello! Could anyone tell me if we can say 'i am handy with children'?
In a dictionary 'to be Handy with' means 'to be good at using something, especially a tool', but this word expression puzzled me when i read novel 'Anne of Green Gables' by Montgomery. Quotation: 'Mrs. Hammond from up the river came down and said she'd take me, seeing I was handy with children....' I'm not sure that we can use this expression in contemporary English as for children? Am i right?
Thanks very much,
Tanya from Ukraine
In a dictionary 'to be Handy with' means 'to be good at using something, especially a tool', but this word expression puzzled me when i read novel 'Anne of Green Gables' by Montgomery. Quotation: 'Mrs. Hammond from up the river came down and said she'd take me, seeing I was handy with children....' I'm not sure that we can use this expression in contemporary English as for children? Am i right?
Thanks very much,
Tanya from Ukraine
Top answer
It sounds odd to me, too. It must have been correct at the time of Green Gables .
- It sounds odd to me, too.
- It must have been correct at the time of Green Gables .
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3 Answers
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It sounds odd to me, too. It must have been correct at the time of Green Gables.
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AnonymousCould anyone tell me if we can say 'i am handy with children'? In a dictionary 'to be Handy with' means 'to be good at using something, especially a tool', but this word expression puzzled meThat use of "handy" sounds a bit old-fashioned to me, but it is plain English, and I would not be surprised to hear it tomorrow. You are right that the dictionar
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