she had concrete proof

f (pl -i) hand

a portata di mano within reach

fuori mano out of the way, not easy to get at

fig alla mano approachable

di seconda mano second-hand

dare una mano a qualcuno give someone a hand

mettere mano a qualcosa start something

lavo le pentole che sporco a mano a mano I wash the dirty pots as I go along

tenersi per mano hold hands

man mano che as (and when)

ha le mani bucate money just slips through his fingers

mani in alto! hands up!

* * *

mano s.f.

1 hand: mani affusolate, callose, tozze, slender, horny, stubby hands; la mano destra, sinistra, the right, left hand; le linee della mano, the lines of the hand; mi sono fatto male alla mano, I hurt my hand; vai a lavarti le mani, go and wash your hands; avere qlco. in mano, to have sthg. in one's hand; battere le mani, to clap (one's hands); consegnare, trasportare qlco. a mano, to deliver, to carry sthg. by hand; passeggiare mano nella mano, to walk hand in hand; alzare la mano, to put one's hand up; voto per alzata di mano, voting by show of hands // mani in alto!, hands up!; giù le mani!, hands off! // (calcio) fallo di mano, hands ball // avere le mani pulite, sporche, (anche fig.) to have clean, dirty hands; il nostro è un partito dalle mani pulite, there's no taint of corruption in our party // stringere la mano, le mani a qlcu., to shake hands with s.o.; qua la mano!, let's shake hands!; stretta di mano, handshake

2 (parte, lato) side: contro mano, (di veicoli ecc.) on the wrong side of the road; tenere la propria mano, (nella circolazione stradale) to keep to one's own side of the road

3 (potere, balìa) hand; power: cadde in mano al nemico, he fell into the enemy's hands; i terroristi hanno ancora in mano cinque ostaggi, the terrorists still have five hostages in their hands; il mio destino è nelle tue mani, my fate is in your hands; quella proprietà non è più nelle sue mani, that property is no longer in his hands; quell'uomo è in mia mano, that man is in my power; avere in mano il successo, to have success within one's grasp

4 (scrittura) handwriting, (form.) hand: di sua mano, in his own hand; ha una bella mano, he has beautiful handwriting

5 (tocco) touch (anche fig.): mano da maestro, masterly touch; si riconosce facilmente la mano di un maestro, it is easy to recognize the hand of a master; mano leggera, (di medico ecc.) light touch; dare l'ultima mano a un quadro, to give the finishing touch to a work // avere la mano pesante, to be heavy-handed

6 (strato di colore, vernice ecc.) coat: mano di finitura, finishing coat; mano di fondo, primer (o priming o undercoat); una mano di vernice, a coat of varnish; mano isolante, sealer; occorre dare un'altra mano di bianco al soffitto, we have to give another coat of white to the ceiling

7 (alle carte) hand: mano fortunata, lucky hand; facciamo ancora una mano, let's play one more hand // chi è di mano?, (a chi tocca iniziare il gioco?) whose lead is it?

8 mano d'opera → manodopera.

◆ FRASEOLOGIA: fatto a mano, handmade; tessuto a mano, handwoven // (mus.): pezzo a quattro mani, a piece for four hands; suonare a quattro mani, to play piano duets // di mano in mano, from hand to hand // a mani vuote, empty-handed // a piene mani, in (o by) handfuls: attinse a piene mani dai classici, he drew liberally on the classics // a mano armata, by force of (o under) arms: rapina a mano armata, holdup (o armed robbery) // a man salva, with impunity (o unopposed) // paga sempre denaro alla mano, (pronta cassa) he always pays (in) cash (o ready money); presentarsi al controllo documenti alla mano, have your documents ready for checking // scappare, sfuggire di mano, to slip through one's fingers: il vaso mi è sfuggito di mano accidentalmente, the vase slipped out of my hands accidentally; la situazione gli è sfuggita di mano, he couldn't keep the situation in hand (o he lost control of the situation); mi è sfuggito dalle mani un buon affare, a good deal slipped through my fingers // ho in mano le prove di quanto asserisco, I have evidence of what I say in my hands // di prima, di seconda mano, first-hand, second-hand: articolo di seconda mano, second-hand article; notizie di prima mano, first-hand news // disegno a mano libera, free-hand drawing // luogo fuori mano, out of the way place // una persona alla mano, an easygoing person // gli restituirò il denaro man mano, I shall give him the money back little by little; man mano che andava avanti si stancava sempre più, as he went on he got more and more tired; man mano che invecchia diventa sempre più avaro, the older he gets the meaner he grows // ha le mani di pastafrolla, he's a butterfingers // ho le mani legate, (fig.) my hands are tied // avere le mani in pasta, to have one's finger in the pie // me ne lavo le mani, I wash my hands of it // mi prudono le mani!, I could hit you! // mettere le mani su qlco., to lay hands on sthg. // non ci metterei la mano sul fuoco, I would not stake my life on it (o wouldn't swear to it) // possono darsi la mano, (fig.) they are two of a kind // puoi darmi una mano, per piacere?, can you give me a hand, please? // alzare le mani contro qlcu., to lift one's hand against s.o. // avere le mani bucate, to be a spendthrift // avere le mani lunghe, (per rubare) to have light fingers; un uomo svelto di mano, (ladruncolo) a light-fingered man (o a pilferer) // il nuovo direttore ha le mani lunghe, (facile a toccare le donne) the new manager can't keep his hands to himself // tenere qlco. a portata di mano, to have sthg. handy (o at hand o within easy reach o ready) // avere qlco. per le mani, to have sthg. in hand // fare la mano a qlco., to get one's hand in at sthg. // caricare la mano, to exaggerate // chiedere, domandare la mano di qlcu., to ask s.o.'s hand in marriage // essere in buone mani, to be in good hands // fare man bassa di qlco., to plunder (o loot) sthg.; i ragazzi hanno fatto man bassa di tutto ciò che c'era da mangiare, the kids made short work of everything that there was to eat // il cavallo gli ha preso la mano, he lost control of the horse; farsi prendere la mano da qlco., to lose control of sthg. // forzare la mano a qlcu., to force s.o.'s hand // lasciare mano libera a qlcu., to allow (o to give) s.o. a free hand // mi sarei mangiato le mani per essermi lasciato sfuggire quell'affare, I could kick myself for losing that deal // menar le mani, to fight // non ho ancora potuto metter mano al nuovo lavoro, I still haven't been able to get started on (o get down to) that new job // mettere mano alla penna, to put pen to paper // mettere mano alla spada, to draw one's sword // mettere mano alla borsa, (fig.) to open one's purse strings // mettere le mani avanti, to be on the safe side: in ogni caso ti conviene metter le mani avanti e definire al più presto la tua posizione, in any case it would be a good idea for you to play safe and clarify your position as soon as possible // mettersi in mano a, nelle mani di un buon medico, to put oneself into the hands of a good doctor // portare qlcu. in palma di mano, to hold s.o. in the palm of one's hand // prendere il coraggio a due mani, to take one's courage in both hands // stare con le mani in mano, to twiddle one's thumbs (o to remain idle): non stare lì con le mani in mano!, don't stand there doing nothing! (o twiddling your thumbs!) // tendere la mano, (elemosinare) to beg; tendere la mano a qlcu., to hold out a hand to s.o. (o to give a helping hand to s.o. o to give s.o. a hand) // tener mano a qlcu., to aid and abet s.o. // toccare con mano (qlco.), to see (sthg.) for oneself // venire alle mani, to come to blows // la mano sinistra non sappia quello che fa la destra, (prov.) let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing // una mano lava l'altra, (prov.) you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.

* * *

sostantivo femminile

1) hand

2) (aiuto)

3) (indicando il controllo, il possesso) hand

4) (stile)

5) (denotando l'abilità)

6) gioc. (a carte) hand

7) (direzione di marcia)

8) (di colore) coat, layer

9) a mano

10) alla mano (pronto da usare, esibire)

11) man mano, (a) mano a mano little by little

12) fuori mano [paese, sentiero] out of the way; [ abitare] off the beaten track

••

* * *

mano

/'mano/ ⇒ 4

sostantivo f.

 1 hand; salutare qcn. con la mano to wave at sb.; -i in alto, su le -i! hands up! mano nella mano hand in hand; passare di mano in mano to pass from hand to hand; tenere qcs. in mano to hold sth. in one's hand; tenersi per mano to hold hands; prendere qcn. per mano to take sb. by the hand (anche fig.); attingere qcs. a piene -i fig. to pick up handfuls of sth.; a -i nude with one's bare hands; suonare il piano a quattro -i to play a duet on the piano; disegnare a mano libera to draw freehand; rapina a mano armata armed robbery; sporcarsi le -i to dirty one's hands, to get one's hands dirty (anche fig.); mettere mano al portafogli to put one's money where one's mouth is, to put one's hand in one's pocket

 2 (aiuto) dare una mano a qcn. to give o lend sb. a (helping) hand

 3 (indicando il controllo, il possesso) hand; cambiare mano to change hands; avere qcs. sotto mano to have sth. on hand; mi è capitato tra le -i I just happened to come across it; tenere qcs. a portata di mano to keep sth. handy; essere nelle -i di qcn. [potere, impresa] to be in sb.'s hands; prendere in mano la situazione to take matters into one's own hands; in buone -i in good hands; in -i sicure in safe hands; cadere nelle -i di qcn. to fall into sb.'s hands; di prima, seconda mano firsthand, second-hand

 4 (stile) riconoscere la mano di un artista to recognize an artist's style

 5 (denotando l'abilità) fare o prendere la mano a to get one's hand in; avere la mano leggera to have a light touch; avere la mano pesante to be heavy-handed; avere la mano felice to be skillful o skilled

 6 gioc. (a carte) hand; passare la mano to pass (anche fig.)

 7 (direzione di marcia) contro mano →  contromano

 8 (di colore) coat, layer

 9 a mano fare qcs. a mano to do o make sth. by hand; fatto a mano handmade; dipinto a mano hand-painted

 10 alla mano (pronto da usare, esibire) minacciare qcn. coltello alla mano to threaten sb. at knife point; è arrivata con prove alla mano she had concrete proof; (semplice) [ persona] informal

 11 man mano, (a) mano a mano little by little; preferisco informarli man mano I prefer to inform them as I go along; man mano che as

 12 fuori mano [paese, sentiero] out of the way; [ abitare] off the beaten track

IDIOMS

chiedere la mano di qcn. to ask for sb.'s hand; ci metterei la mano sul fuoco I'm willing to bet on it; fare man bassa to sweep the board; venire alle -i to come to blows; avere le -i di burro o di pastafrolla to be butterfingered; arrivare a -i vuote to arrive empty-handed; qua la mano! put it there! shake! give o slip me some skin! AE; man forte→  manforte; una mano lava l'altra you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours; essere preso con le -i nel sacco to be caught red-handed; alzare le -i su qcn., mettere le -i addosso a qcn. to lay a finger o hand on sb.; mettere le -i avanti to play (it) safe; stare con le -i in mano to sit o stand idly by; avere le -i lunghe (rubare) to be light- o nimble-fingered, to have sticky fingers colloq.; (essere influente) to have a lot of influence; avere le -i in pasta to have a finger in every pie; farsi o lasciarsi prendere la mano to lose control of the situation; toccare con mano to experience first hand.

è arrivata con prove alla mano

she had concrete proof; (semplice) [ persona] informal

\

→  mano

hard

A adj

1 [consistency, object, surface, skin, muscle, snow, butter, bread, ground, bed, pencil lead] dur ; [paint, wax, mud, glue] dur, durci ; to go ou grow ou become hard durcir ; to set hard [concrete, plaster etc] durcir complètement ; a hard frost une forte gelée ; frozen hard complètement gelé ; ⇒ hard lens ;

2 (difficult, complex) [problem, question, puzzle] dur, difficile ; [choice] difficile, dur à faire ; [decision] difficile, dur à prendre ; (arduous, demanding) [task, study, training, climb] dur, difficile ; [bargaining, negotiations, fight] dur, serré ; I've had a hard day j'ai eu une dure journée ; a hard day's work/filming une dure journée de travail/de tournage ; to be hard to open/cut/find/read être dur or difficile à ouvrir/couper/trouver/lire ; it's a hard poem to translate c'est un poème difficile à traduire ; to be hard to please être exigeant ; it's hard to do c'est dur or difficile à faire ; it was hard not to laugh il était dur or difficile de ne pas rire ; his decision was hard for us to understand il était dur or difficile de comprendre sa décision, nous avions du mal à comprendre sa décision ; it is hard for sb to do sth il est difficile à or pour qn de faire qch ; it was hard for us to understand his decision il nous était difficile de comprendre sa décision, nous avions du mal à comprendre sa décision ; it's hard for old people to change their ways il est difficile pour les personnes âgées de changer leurs habitudes ; to find it hard to do sth avoir du mal à faire qch, trouver dur or difficile de faire qch ; to find sth hard to do trouver qch dur or difficile à faire ; it's hard to accept/believe on a du mal à accepter/croire (that que) ; I'm not afraid of hard work le travail ne me fait pas peur ; it was hard work ou going ça a été dur or difficile ; it's hard work doing sth c'est difficile or dur de faire qch ; it was hard work persuading her to sell c'était difficile or dur de la persuader de vendre ; I found the article rather hard going j'ai trouvé l'article plutôt ardu or difficile ; he made hard work of moving the table il a fait tout un plat ○ pour déplacer la table ; hard work never hurt ou killed anybody! le travail n'a jamais fait de mal à personne! ; it's too much like hard work c'est trop fatigant ; to be a hard worker [student, pupil, employee] être travailleur/-euse ; [manual worker] être dur à la tâche ; to do things the hard way se compliquer la tâche ; he got the job the hard way il a beaucoup travaillé pour en arriver là ; to find sth out ou learn sth the hard way apprendre qch à ses dépens ;

3 (harsh, unpleasant) [life, childhood, year] difficile ; [blow, knock] fig dur, terrible ; [climate, winter] rude ; he has to learn to take the hard knocks il faut qu'il apprenne à encaisser ○ ; this is a hard world nous vivons dans un monde cruel or sans pitié ; to be hard on sb [person, court] être dur envers qn ; don't be so hard on yourself! ne sois pas si dur avec toi-même! ; this tax is very hard on the unemployed cet impôt frappe durement les chômeurs ; this print is hard on the eyes ces caractères ne ménagent pas la vue ; hard luck ou lines ○ GB! ( sympathetic) pas de chance! ; hard luck ou lines ○ GB ou cheese ○ GB! ( unsympathetic) tant pis pour toi!, manque de pot ○ ! ; to take a hard line adopter une attitude ferme (on sth à propos de qch ; with sb envers qn) ; it's a hard life gen, hum, iron la vie est dure ; it's a hard life being a millionaire iron c'est dur d'être (un) millionnaire ; no hard feelings! sans rancune! ; I bear her no hard feelings je ne lui en veux pas, je ne lui en tiens pas rancune ; these are hard times les temps sont durs ; to fall on hard times connaître des revers de fortune ; he's having a hard time (of it) il traverse une période difficile ; to have a hard time (of it) doing sth avoir du mal à faire qch ; to give sb a hard time ○ ( make things difficult) rendre la vie impossible à qn ; ( tell off) passer un savon ○ à qn ;

4 (stern, cold) [person, voice, look, words] dur, sévère ; their hearts are hard ils ont le cœur dur ;

5 ( forceful) [shove, push, knock] bon/bonne (before n) ; I gave the door a hard push j'ai poussé fortement la porte ;

6 ( concrete) [evidence, proof] solide ; [facts] concret/-ète, solide ; [news] sérieux/-ieuse ; the paper that brings you the hard news le journal qui vous donne des nouvelles sérieuses ; the hard facts about sth la vérité sur qch ;

7 ( stark) [outline, colour, light] dur ; [sound] violent ;

8 ( strong) [drink, liquor] fort ; [drug] dur ; [pornography] hard ; to be a hard drinker boire des alcools forts ; a drop of the hard stuff ○ une goutte d'alcool (fort) ;

9 Pol the hard left/right la gauche/droite (pure et) dure ;

10 Chem [water] dur, calcaire ;

11 Ling [consonant] dur ;

12 ○ ( tough) [person] dur ; so you think you're hard, do you? tu te prends pour un dur, hein ○ ?

B adv

1 (strongly, energetically) [push, pull, punch, laugh, cry] fort ; [work] dur ; [study, think] sérieusement ; [rain] fort, à verse ; [snow] abondamment ; [look, listen] attentivement ; to hit sb/sth hard lit frapper qn/qch fort ; fig frapper qn/qch durement ; to be hard hit fig être durement frappé (by par) ; think hard! réfléchissez bien or sérieusement! ; to try hard ( intellectually) faire beaucoup d'efforts ; ( physically) essayer de toutes ses forces ; as hard as one can [run, try, push, pull, work] de toutes ses forces ; no matter how hard I try/work, I… j'ai beau essayer/travailler, je… ; to be hard at it ○ ou at work être en plein boulot ○ or travail ; she works ou drives her students very hard elle fait travailler très dur ses étudiants ; to take sth (very) hard prendre (très) mal qch ;

2 ( with directions) turn hard left at the traffic lights aux feux tournez tout de suite à gauche ; go hard astern Naut machine arrière toute ; hard a-port/a-starboard Naut à babord/à tribord toute ;

3 ( indicating proximity) hard behind juste derrière ; hard by† sth tout près de qch ; hard (up)on sth juste sur qch ; ⇒ heel.

to play hard to get se faire désirer ; to be hard put to do avoir du mal à faire ; to be/feel hard done by être/se sentir brimé.