hands — “As tall a man of his,” THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, i.
4. 24 ; “thou art a tall fellow of thy hands,” THE WINTER'S
TALE, v. 2. 158 ; “a proper fellow of my hands,” 2 HENRY IV.,
ii. 2. 64. “Of his hands was a phrase equivalent to ‘of his
inches,’ or ‘of his size,’ a hand being the measure of four
inches. ‘As tall a man of his hands’ [=as bold or able a man of
his hands], etc., was a phrase used, most likely, for the sake
of a jocular equivocation in the word tall, which meant either
bold or high.” Nares's Gloss. in v. “Hand,” etc. “A man of his
hands, Homo strenuus, impiger, manu promptus.” Coles's Lat. and
Engl. Dict. Table of Contents: H - hardiment