toom-handed

adjective

Emptyhanded.

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Meanings

adjectivetoom-handed (not comparable)
  1. Scotlanddialectalnot comparableEmptyhanded.

    Tis maybe better, I'll take fat ye gee, Ye're nae toom-handed gin your heart be free

    1812, Alexander Ross, Alexander Thomson, Helenore: Or, The Fortunate Shepherdess. A Pastoral Tale, page 8
adverbtoom-handed (not comparable)
  1. Scotlanddialectalnot comparableEmptyhanded.

    It's but sma' propine ; but I wad na come a'- thegither toom-handed, were it but for luck's sake

    1827, Christian Isobel Johnstone, Elizabeth de Bruce - Volume 2, page 241
    2 more examples

    I wis he had na been so headstrong ; but it's a' his ain fault : howsever, it would na be canny to gang toom-handed, and I hae got a bit bill for five score pounds that I'm mindit to gie him.

    1823, John Galt, The Entail: Or, The Lairds of Grippy - Volume 1, page 156

    What's come o' our supper, goodman, that you are coming toom-handed? Do you no think it is time your guests had something to eat, or hae ye naething either to eat or drink in this great gousty castle?

    2010, James Hogg, The Three Perils Of Man, →ISBN, page 177

Origin

From toom + handed.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

toom-handed. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toom-handed

MLA

“toom-handed.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toom-handed. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “toom-handed,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toom-handed.

Source: toom-handed on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.