doublehandedness

Noun

double-handedness (uncountable)

1. The use of both hands together.
   • Such chaff may provoke a passing smile, but no chaff will ever detract one iota from the value of double-handedness, and I most strongly urge all anglers, old or young, to devote some little time and attention to the acquirement of this ...1906, H. V. Hart-Davis, Chats on Angling, page 45
2. Ambidexterity
   • According to Subirana (1969) one quarter of the population is preponderantly right-handed; one third shows right predominance; one quarter shows mixed or double-handedness, and one sixth a left predominance.1987, Michael Rutter, Developmental Psychiatry, →ISBN, page 156
3. The use of two people, working together.
   • It is very gratifying to cite here the rather significant fact that a man and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Gordon, are joint workers in the conduct of the Settlement; that this double-handedness is a great advantage...1901, Annual Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the State of New York for the Year 1900
4. Duality, the quality of serving two purposes or having two (often contradictory) facets.
   • The rhetorical double-handedness of this proclamation (an "although" balanced by a "yet,", its "quiet enjoyment" set off by the threat of confiscation and death), already remarkably akin to the palinode or table razing in Lucio's tale, expresses the institutional ambivalence toward privateering...1997, Jacques Lezra, Unspeakable Subjects: The Genealogy of the Event in Early Modern Europe, →ISBN
5. Deceit or hypocrisy.
   • In her relationships with the Montefeltro and Borgia, Isabella continued to ensure that double-handedness was not exposed, presenting diverse appearances of reality to different audiences to preserve alliance.2013, Dr Sarah D P Cockram, Isabella d'Este and Francesco Gonzaga: Power Sharing at the Italian Renaissance Court, →ISBN