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Synonyms for handicap
| Grammar : Noun, verb |
| Spell : han-dee-kap |
| Phonetic Transcription : ˈhæn diˌkæp |
Top 10 synonyms for handicap Other synonyms for the word handicap
- baggage
- block
- bulge
- detriment
- edge
- encumber
- encumbrance
- favor
- hangup
- head start
- hog-tie
- hold back
- impairment
- impede
- impediment
- injury
- limit
- limitation
- load
- millstone
- obstacle
- odds
- penalty
- points
- psychological baggage
- put out of commission
- restrict
- restriction
- shortcoming
- sideline
- start
- stumbling block
- take out
- upper hand
- vantage
Définition of handicap
Origin :- 1650s, from hand in cap, a game whereby two bettors would engage a neutral umpire to determine the odds in an unequal contest. The bettors would put their hands holding forfeit money into a hat or cap. The umpire would announce the odds and the bettors would withdraw their hands -- hands full meaning that they accepted the odds and the bet was on, hands empty meaning they did not accept the bet and were willing to forfeit the money. If one forfeited, then the money went to the other. If both agreed either on forfeiting or going ahead with the wager, then the umpire kept the money as payment. The custom, though not the name, is attested from 14c. ("Piers Plowman").
- Reference to horse racing is 1754 (Handy-Cap Match), where the umpire decrees the superior horse should carry extra weight as a "handicap;" this led to sense of "encumbrance, disability" first recorded 1890. The main modern sense, "disability," is the last to develop, early 20c.
- noun disadvantage
- noun advantage
- verb give disadvantage
- And the pinto, for all his courage, could not meet that handicap and beat it.
- Extract from : « Way of the Lawless » by Max Brand
- His imperial intelligence, however, was too heavy a handicap.
- Extract from : « The Man Shakespeare » by Frank Harris
- Even Tillie's chicken and waffles failed against this handicap.
- Extract from : « K » by Mary Roberts Rinehart
- Lucretia's defeat in the Handicap had increased his despondency.
- Extract from : « Thoroughbreds » by W. A. Fraser
- I'll give you a brush, if you do, and a handicap into the bargain.
- Extract from : « Tom Swift and his Electric Runabout » by Victor Appleton
- I hadn't gone to the academy, but this was no handicap to my finding the letter.
- Extract from : « Arm of the Law » by Harry Harrison
- The Handicap is going to be the big betting race of the meeting.
- Extract from : « Old Man Curry » by Charles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan
- I want to know what the old man thinks of his chances in the Handicap.
- Extract from : « Old Man Curry » by Charles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan
- The Handicap was emphatically the "big betting race" of the season.
- Extract from : « Old Man Curry » by Charles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan
- I tried to foller, but my rheumatiz was too big a handicap; all I could do was yell.
- Extract from : « Cape Cod Stories » by Joseph C. Lincoln
Antonyms for handicap
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019