pump handle

Water extraction grip

The handle of a pump, gripped and moved up and down to draw water or other fluids.

A pump-handle handshake vigorously moves the arm in this same vertical motion: He grabbed my hand and gave it a real pump-handle shake.

As a verb, to pump-handle someone is to shake hands this way, often suggesting excessive enthusiasm or political glad-handing.

Related

water · crank · iron · handshake · squeeze · prime · up and down · rusty · old fashioned · stroke · lift · plunger · motion · cylinder · farmyard · bucket · mechanical · cast iron

Categories
Opposites
pump component function

pump handlespout

Projecting pouring tube

outlet · nozzle · discharge pipe · water outlet · valve

mechanism type

pump handleelectric motor

Converts current to motion

power switch · push button

Family

pump, handle, pumps, pumped, pumping, pumper, handles, handled, handling

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G