Handly vs Hardly - What's the difference?

handly | hardly |

As an adjective handly

is of or pertaining to the hand; manual.

As an adverb hardly is

firmly, vigorously, with strength or exertion.

As an interjection hardly is

not really.

handly

English

Adjective

(en-adj)

Of or pertaining to the hand; manual.

* 1921 , Peter George Mode, Source book and bibliographical guide for American church history :

George W. Greene's " Short History of Rhode Island" (1877) is a handly manual but nothing more.

* 1971 , World justice: Volume 12:

[...] Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris published a handly manual in off -set intitled Bibliography — International Migration of Manpower (1).

* 2009 , Philip Durkin, The Oxford guide to etymology :

The word handly has no asterisk because it is in fact recorded several times in Middle English, and with precisely the meaning 'manual'.

Handy; manageable.

* 1859 , The Spectator: Volume 32:

The Practical Guide for Italy, comprising the North and Central portions of the Peninsula has just been issued, and fully sustains the established character of the series. It is accompanied with a handly little map illustrative of the war.

hardly

English

Adverb

(en-adv)

(manner, obsolete) Firmly, vigorously, with strength or exertion.

*, Folio Society, 2006, vol.1, p.148:

Let him hardly be possest with an honest curiositie to search out the nature and causes of all things.

(manner, archaic) Harshly, severely.

With difficulty.

*, Folio Society, 2006, vol.1, p.234:

And what gentle flame soever doth warme the heart of young virgins, yet are they hardly drawne to leave and forgoe their mothers, to betake them to their husbands.

* 1977 , , The Honourable Schoolboy , Folio Society 2010, p. 40:

While in Chelsea, Anne Smiley pined, taking very hardly to her unaccustomed role of wife abandoned.

(degree) Barely, only just, almost not.

* {{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 3, author=David Ornstein, work=BBC Sport

, title= Macc Tel-Aviv 1-2 Stoke , passage=With this the second of three games in seven days for Stoke, it was hardly surprising to see nine changes from the side that started against Newcastle in the Premier League on Monday.}}

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-06, volume=408, issue=8843, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= The rise of smart beta , passage=Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.}}

Usage notes

In the sense "barely", it is grammatically a negative word. It therefore collocates with ever rather than never. * Compare example sentence with I almost never watch television

Synonyms

* barely, just, only just, scarcely

Interjection

(en interjection)

Not really.

I think the Beatles are a really overrated band. &

x2015; Hardly !

Statistics

* English degree adverbs