on the gripping hand

But, there is no previously unseen "far side" of Mars. It shows us all of itself.¶ On the other hand, the crew of the Kilroy would probably be able to see the back of the moon after the got past its orbit on their way to Mars.¶ On the gripping hand, by the time there was a flight to Mars, one would expect that flights past the moon had previously occurred.

1994 October 26, Michael Stemper, “Re: Dated Science Fiction”, in rec.arts.sf.fandom (Usenet), message-ID <CyAHDA.tq6@empros.com>

Not all of us are protected by having common names or by having rare names which are all but impossible to remember or spell correctly.¶ However, I haven't seen evidence that such protection is especially necessary. On the gripping hand, con badges with nicknames seems like a low-risk way of making some people more comfortable.

2001 September 8, Nancy Lebovitz, “Re: Notes on a Worldcon”, in rec.arts.sf.fandom (Usenet), message-ID <9ndq8v$235@netaxs.com>

Louise had two new books, one black, one red. Apparently they were about the occult. On the one hand, we needed to know what we were dealing with. On the other, I didn't think that it was the sort of thing we should be getting involved with ourselves. On the gripping hand we didn't have to use it ourselves, so that was alright.

2014, Sarah McGee, The Thin Ice, →ISBN, page 13