upper hand
nounEtymology From Middle English over hond, from Old English ofer- + hand (superior control; superior position). Not, as supposed, from a card game or counting-out game.
1
Idiomatic, Usually Advantage or control.
- There was no refusing him, for he had got the complete upper hand of the community, and the peaceful burghers all stood in awe of him.1855, Washington Irving, Guests from Gibbet Island:
- [C]uriosity began to get the upper hand, and I determined I should have one look through the cabin window.1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 23, in Treasure Island:
3 more examples
- There it was Razumov who had the upper hand, in a composed sense of his own superiority.1911, Joseph Conrad, chapter 1, in Under Western Eyes:
- And because they live everywhere and reproduce quickly, bacteria have the upper hand.2003 February 14, Christine Gorman, “Playing Chicken With Our Antibiotics”, in Time:
- "We've now protected the line from similar-sized flooding-events and bigger ones," he says. That's quite some claim for a line where floods have often had the upper hand in the past 16 years, causing track bed and embankments to be rebuilt.2020 August 26, Andrew Mourant, “Reinforced against future flooding”, in Rail, page 61:
2
Obsolete, Usually The place of honour accorded to a social superior when walking together; the right of way in walking