A traditional English idiom describing the passing of something — an object, idea, responsibility, or rumor — from one person to another in succession. It evokes a chain of handoffs, whether literal (passing a document around a room) or figurative (a story spreading through a community). The phrase implies direct, personal transmission rather than broadcast communication, and carries a sense of something moving continuously through a social network.
The petition traveled from hand to hand through the entire office before it reached the manager's desk.
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(UK, idiomatic) From one individual to another.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.