hand down (something)

1. to give something to a younger member of a family.

Fewer and fewer small farms are handed down from one generation to the next.

My grandfather handed his toy trains down to my father.

Usage notes: sometimes said about people who are not related:

He believes that confidence cannot be handed down from your coach or anyone else.

2. to announce a decision in a trial.

After a three-month trial, the jury handed down a guilty verdict.

Related vocabulary: hands down

Etymology: both meanings come from the idea of someone older or in authority literally handing something to someone smaller or less important

• You can talk!
• You can't judge a book by its cover.
• You can't keep a good man down.
• You can't keep a good woman down.
• You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.
• You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
• You can't make bricks without straw.
• you can't miss it
• You can't say fairer than that.
• You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
• You can't win 'em all.
• you could cut the atmosphere with a knife
• You could have heard a pin drop.
• You could have knocked me down with a feather!
• You could have knocked me over with a feather!
• you could hear a pin drop
• you couldn't have asked for anything more
• you couldn't have asked for more
• You could've fooled me.
• You'd better believe it!
• you don't need this
• you have got to be kidding
• you haven't lived
• you haven't lived until
• you haven't lived until something