hand over fist
Gaining money quickly
Hand over fist describes rapid, continuous gain—usually of money: They're making money hand over fist.
The image comes from sailors hauling rope, one hand grabbing above the other in steady succession.
The phrase nearly always appears with verbs of acquisition: making, earning, raking in, losing.
- apaceWith quickness
- windfallUnanticipated lucky gain
- quicklyAt high speed
- bonanzaSudden large windfall
- speedilyIn a rapid manner
gravy train · snowballing · rolling in dough · rolling in it · big bucks · money to burn · printing money · cash cow · increasingly · rapidly · money-spinner · easy money · piling up · wealth accumulation · making a killing · capital gains · fast · striking gold
- Nautical Idiomsbatten down the hatches, smooth sailing, three sheets to the wind, in the same boat, rock the boat
hand over fistgradually
In slow stages
slowly · little by little · bit by bit · incrementally · at a snail's pace
hand over fistinch by inch
In tiny successive stages
slowly but surely · by degrees · step by step · imperceptibly · modestly
hand, handle, hands, fist, handled, handling, handed, handles, handler