feel of

a/the feel of (something)

A good sense of a situation or how to do something; substantial knowledge or experience in something. Once I have a feel of the company's daily operations, I'll be more comfortable in this management role.
See also: feel, of
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

*feel of something

Fig. a sense for how something feels when it is being used correctly. (*Typically: get ~; have ~; give someone ~.) I haven't yet got the feel of this bat. I hope I don't strike out. I can drive better now that I have the feel of this car's steering.
See also: feel, of
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • a/the feel of (something)
  • (I) wouldn't (do something) if I were you
  • a straw will show which way the wind blows
  • a crack at (someone or something)
  • all right
  • (you) wanna make something of it?
  • all for the best
  • a thing of the past
  • a slew of (something)
  • a bird in the hand
References in periodicals archive
He knew the feel of his body in fast motion so well that the kinetic adjustments became subtle reflexes, leaving his mind free to play.
I'm just not good enough: how one dancer fell into the black hole of self-criticism, and climbed out--and learned a thing or two about technique
For many metalcasters, there is no substitute for the smooth and silky feel of perfectly conditioned green sand.
The feel of molding sand also relates to the ability of molding sand operators to have the desired squeeze and correct quantity of sand remaining on their hand after it is returned to the molding sand system.
Feeling out sand conditioning
Although not able to see clearly and ascertain the differences between the physical facial features of a mother or father, the baby learns to distinguish between the tone and timber of his parents' voices, as well as the feel of their embrace.
Pedagogy: a matter of sharing one's experiential past for today's learning. (The scholarship of teaching and learning)
I like the feel of that phrase, "the threshold of singing." It reminds me of tapping feet at the edge of the dance floor, or of children who have just spotted an ice-cream truck.
Sing your heart out
Conference and reception areas play an important role in establishing the feel of an Adult Day Care Center.
Design for adult day care
Although the officer in Dickerson contended that he immediately recognized the feel of crack cocaine before conducting the expanded manipulation of the object in Dickerson's pocket,(21) the Supreme Court apparently agreed with the Minnesota Supreme Court's conclusion set forth below that the officer's contention was not credible:
The "plain feel" doctrine
To help scientists correlate the feel of atomic landscapes with the visual appearance of STM images, the IBM team plans to program an auxiliary computer to display images of sample surfaces that also show the path of the tip as it was steered by the teleoperator.
As with Hollis' system, an operator may literally get the feel of an object, Hunter and his collaborators suggested at last year's Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers conference on robotics and automation, held in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Getting a feel for atoms: 'magic wrist' takes scientists into a new sensory realm
They have a real interest in fantasy and illusion, and the otherworldly feel of dance, and on top of that, they're all nice.
Dressed and impressed: a selection of well-known professional dancers from different genres and eras recall the costumes they liked best and what made them great
It was not the words but the push, the sense, the feel of his finger that haunted me as I walked back to my pew.
Touched by ashes