1. [n]  the appendage to an object that is designed to be held in order to use or move it; "he grabbed the hammer by the handle"; "it was an old briefcase but it still had
2. [v]  deal with verbally or in some form of artistic expression; "This book deals with incest"; "The course covered all of Western Civilization"; "The new book treats the history of China"
3. [v]  touch, lift, or hold with the hands
4. [v]  handle effectively; "The burglar wielded an axe"
5. [v]  hold and move repeatedly
6. [v]  be in charge of, act on, or dispose of; "I can deal with this crew of workers"; "This blender can't handle nuts"; "She managed her parents' affairs after they got too old"
7. [v]  interact in a certain way; "Do right by her"; "Treat him with caution, please"; "Handle the press reporters gently"

1. \Han"dle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Handled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Handling} .] [OE. handlen, AS. handian; akin to D. handelen
   to trade, G. handeln. See {Hand}.]
   1. To touch; to feel with the hand; to use or hold with the
      hand.
   
            Handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh.
                                                  --Luke xxiv.
                                                  39.
   
            About his altar, handling holy things. --Milton.
   
   2. To manage in using, as a spade or a musket; to wield;
      often, to manage skillfully.
   
            That fellow handles his bow like a crowkeeper.
                                                  --Shak.
   
   3. To accustom to the hand; to work upon, or take care of,
      with the hands.
   
            The hardness of the winters forces the breeders to
            house and handle their colts six months every year.
                                                  --Sir W.
                                                  Temple.
   
   4. To receive and transfer; to have pass through one's hands;
      hence, to buy and sell; as, a merchant handles a variety
      of goods, or a large stock.
   
   5. To deal with; to make a business of.
   
            They that handle the law knew me not. --Jer. ii. 8.
   
   6. To treat; to use, well or ill.
   
            How wert thou handled being prisoner. --Shak.
   
   7. To manage; to control; to practice skill upon.
   
            You shall see how I will handle her.  --Shak.
   
   8. To use or manage in writing or speaking; to treat, as a
      theme, an argument, or an objection.
   
            We will handle what persons are apt to envy others.
                                                  --Bacon.
   
   {To handle without gloves}. See under {Glove}. [Colloq.]
   
   

2. \Han"dle\, v. i.
   To use the hands.
   
         They have hands, but they handle not.    --Ps. cxv. 7.
   
   

3. \Han"dle\, n. [AS. handle. See {Hand}.]
   1. That part of vessels, instruments, etc., which is held in
      the hand when used or moved, as the haft of a sword, the
      knob of a door, the bail of a kettle, etc.
   
   2. That of which use is made; the instrument for effecting a
      purpose; a tool. --South.
   
   {To give a handle}, to furnish an occasion or means.
   
   

1. (From Citizen's Band amateur radio slang) An electronic pseudonym or "nom de guerre" intended to conceal the user's true identity. Network and BBS handles function as the same sort of simultaneous concealment and display one finds on CB.

Use of grandiose handles is characteristic of crackers, weenies, spods, and other lower forms of network life; true hackers travel on their own reputations rather than invented legendry.

Compare nick.

2. (Macintosh) A pointer to a pointer to dynamically-allocated memory. The extra level of indirection allows on-the-fly memory compaction (to cut down on fragmentation) or garbage collection of unused resources, with minimal impact on the (possibly multiple) parts of the larger program containing references to the allocated memory.

Compare snap (to snap a handle would defeat its purpose). See also aliasing bug, dangling pointer.

[jargon file]