adj
With the back of the hand.
The trader roars like an animal whose paw has been caught in a trap, but he hauls back his other arm and lands a backhanded blow to the side of her head that knocks her sideways onto the babushki bench.
Involving a backward flip of the hand.
Some casters can do a cross-body or backhanded cast quite effectively.
With your palm facing down, your wrist snaps forward. This is the same type of motion used for the backhanded change-up.
Insincere, sarcastic, ironic, or self-contradictory.
But modesty here is out of the question, and is often the most beggarly and back-handed friend that merit can have in its pay.
Don't mistake this for even a backhanded compliment; that at least takes a wry sense of imagination. This is a patronizing compliment, which is worse than no compliment at all.
Indirect.
Only in grade 5 is he mentioned and in this backhanded way: "George Darwin, son of the famous English scientist, Charles Darwin." . . . But for what is Charles Darwin famous? You won't find it in the California elementary science textbooks.
ClickStart could be seen as a backhanded way of admitting that, to date, the Internet had done exceedingly well by white people as compared to black;
Backwards, turned around.
No one ever believed that Leif meant any harm, but all the luck he brought was backhanded.
... it joins Clark fork twenty miles farther on, at the second apex of a sharp backhanded turn or zigzag by which this river shifts from one northwestward course to another...
adv
In a backhanded manner.
As the man crumpled forward, Snow took a further step with his right foot and brought the pole down backhanded with all his power into the right side of the man's head.
Then with her curved hand knife, she proceeded to clean the selected sprouts, flipping them backhanded into the top crate on her left when done.