Literary notes about handler (AI summary)
The term "handler" in literature is remarkably versatile, often designating someone adept at controlling or managing both tangible objects and abstract responsibilities. In some narratives, it indicates a skilled operator who manages heavy machinery or animals, as seen with a freight handler who masterfully coordinates logistics [1][2] or a horse handler praised for his expertise [3]. In other contexts, the word conveys a sense of finesse in specialized tasks—ranging from fixing delicate components to precise activities like card handling [4][5] or even operating swift craft with prowess [6]. Moreover, "handler" may also imply a figure of authority or strategic guidance, as when a character is noted as an expert in managing men, approaching challenges with tactical acumen [7][8]. This multiplicity of meanings underscores its broad appeal in literature, where it serves as a shorthand for expertise, control, and leadership in a variety of settings [9].
- The freight-handler had also turned his head and as their glances met, the latter nodded and: “A fine morning after the rain,” he called cheerily.
— from Harry's Island by Ralph Henry Barbour - The first man called was a laborer, a freight handler, whose occupation had gone when the company ceased to handle freight.
— from Snow on the HeadlightA Story of the Great Burlington Strike by Cy Warman - You're a good cowhand and a first rate horse handler, but won't you ever get anything in your head but those things?
— from The Last Straw by Harold Titus - These parts are made in plaster moulds by the ‘handler,’ whose duty it now is to fix them to the vase.
— from Porcelain by Edward Dillon - When with the gambler, or the roue , he was equally at home—a debauchee, or a handler of cards.
— from Ellen Walton Or, The Villain and His Victims by Alvin Addison - However, Steve was a skillful handler of the swift little craft.
— from Under Fire For Servia by James Fiske - There he distinguished himself as a handler of mobs, and learned a few things that were of inestimable advantage to him later.
— from Mr. Bonaparte of Corsica by John Kendrick Bangs - 110 The greatest living tactician and the most consummate handler of men, were in counsel.
— from The Campaigns of the 124th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with Roster and Roll of Honor by G. W. (George W.) Lewis - A good whip handler knows at least four or five different cuts, and can hit within an inch or so anywhere inside the length of the long lash.
— from Report on the Dominion Government Expedition to Hudson Bay and the Arctic Islands on board the D.G.S. Neptune, 1903-1904 by A. P. (Albert Peter) Low
