poor grip
Hands can't clutch
Poor grip describes an inadequate hold on something, whether physical or figurative.
A tool with poor grip slips in the hand; a tire with poor grip loses traction on wet roads.
Someone with a poor grip on a subject lacks solid understanding: She has a poor grip on the basics of accounting.
The phrase often implies vulnerability to losing control.
- slipperyLacking friction, hard-to-grasp
- slippery slopeArgument predicting inevitable escalation
- fumbleHandle with clumsy fingers
- dropFall or release
- sweatyMoist from exertion
slip through fingers · palms · sweaty palms · clutch · loose · weak · slide · friction · handle · clammy · trembling · hand tremor · shaky hands · clumsy · butterfingers · butter fingers · slick · grasp
- clumsinessclumsiness, clumsy, awkwardness, fumble, stumble
- weakened thingsweak link, thin ice, brittle bone, worn tread, dying ember
- design flawsdefect, flaw, fault, glitch, bug
- baseball errorserror, fielding error, throwing error, dropped ball, bobble
- movement disorderstremor, dystonia, chorea, tremors, bradykinesia
firmness of hold
poor gripfirm grip
Secure manual hold
strong grip · tight grip · iron grip · vice grip · death grip
poor, grip, poorly, poorer, poorest, poorness, grips, gripped, gripper