ہاتھ میں صفائی ہونا

Urdu

FWOTD – 26 July 2024

Etymology

From ہَاتھ (hāth, “hand”) +‎ میں (mẽ, “in”) +‎ صَفَائی (safāī, “cleanliness”) +‎ ہونا (honā, “to have”), literally “to have cleanliness in hands”.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /ɦɑːt̪ʰ mẽː sə.fɑː.iː ɦoː.nɑː/

Verb

ہَاتھ میں صَفَائی ہونا • (hāth mẽ safāī honā) (Hindi spelling हाथ में सफ़ाई होना) (idiomatic)

1. to have sleight of hand; for one to have craftsmanship / skill in their occupation or line of work.
2. (figuratively) to have a defence for an act.
   • 1993, Ata ul Haq Qasmi, حسبِ معمول [Ḥasb-i maʻmūl], →OCLC, page 52:

     نہ ان کے دل میں رحم ہے اور نہ ان کے ہاتھ میں صفائی ہے۔

     na un ke dil mẽ rahm hai aur na un ke hāth mẽ safāī hai.

     There is neither mercy in their heart nor do they have any justification for their actions.

Further reading

• “ہاتھ میں صفائی ہونا”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “haath+me.n+safaa.ii+honaa”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2024.