on the gripping hand

English

Etymology

From the 1993 novel The Gripping Hand, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, in which three-armed aliens use the phrase in a way akin to "on the other hand".

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Prepositional phrase

on the gripping hand

1. (fandom slang, sequence, idiomatic) from a third point of view
   • 1994 October 26, Michael Stemper, “Re: Dated Science Fiction”, in rec.arts.sf.fandom‎^[1] (Usenet), message-ID <CyAHDA.tq6@empros.com>:

     But, there is no previously unseen "far side" of Mars. It shows us all of itself.¶ On the other hand, the crew of the Kilroy would probably be able to see the back of the moon after the got past its orbit on their way to Mars.¶ On the gripping hand, by the time there was a flight to Mars, one would expect that flights past the moon had previously occurred.

   • 2001 September 8, Nancy Lebovitz, “Re: Notes on a Worldcon”, in rec.arts.sf.fandom‎^[2] (Usenet), message-ID <9ndq8v$235@netaxs.com>:

     Not all of us are protected by having common names or by having rare names which are all but impossible to remember or spell correctly.¶ However, I haven't seen evidence that such protection is especially necessary. On the gripping hand, con badges with nicknames seems like a low-risk way of making some people more comfortable.

   • 2014, Sarah McGee, The Thin Ice, →ISBN, page 13:

     Louise had two new books, one black, one red. Apparently they were about the occult. On the one hand, we needed to know what we were dealing with. On the other, I didn't think that it was the sort of thing we should be getting involved with ourselves. On the gripping hand we didn't have to use it ourselves, so that was alright.

Coordinate terms

• on the one hand
• on the other hand