What it means
Clumsy, awkward, or just useless with your hands, like your arms have got two left feet. It started as a cheeky dig at left-handedness, which is a bit grim, but now it’s mostly for anyone who’s ham-fisted and turns simple jobs into carnage. Classic for DIY disasters, cooking fails, and people who somehow drop everything, every single time without fail.
Usage examples
"Mate, he promised he’d put up a shelf, drilled straight into the pipe, and flooded the flat. Step away from the tools, he’s cack-handed."
"I made a cack-handed job of the shelf and now the books all slide gently to the left."
"She is brilliant with numbers but properly cack-handed with a screwdriver, so we swap chores."
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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