know like the back of one's hand

English

Alternative forms

• know like the palm of one's hand

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Verb

know like the back of one's hand (third-person singular simple present knows like the back of one's hand, present participle knowing like the back of one's hand, simple past knew like the back of one's hand, past participle known like the back of one's hand)

1. (transitive, simile) To be intimately knowledgeable about something.

   He knows the software like the back of his hand, and can often solve problems over the phone, without looking.

   • 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 218:

     "I can; know that country like the back of my hand. You haven't got a road map, I suppose. Well, no matter, I'll give you the lay of the land without it."

   • 2024 April 27, Tim Bano, quoting Sanaz Toossi, “It's a play born of rage”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 15:

     “I know American audiences like the back of my hand,” she says, sitting in a dressing room in London at the end of a long day of rehearsals; […]

Synonyms

• know inside and out
• know like a book

Translations

be intimately knowledgeable about

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 瞭如指掌／了如指掌 (zh) (liǎorúzhǐzhǎng)

• Dutch: kennen als z'n broekzak
• Finnish: tuntea kuin omat taskunsa (literally “to know like one's own pockets”)
• French: connaître comme sa poche (fr) (literally “know like one's pocket”)
• German: etwas kennen wie die eigene Westentasche
• Hungarian: ismeri, mint a tenyerét
• Norwegian: kjenne som sin egen bukselomme (literally “to know like one's pocket”)
• Polish: znać jak własną kieszeń (pl) (literally “to know like own pocket”)
• Portuguese: conhecer como a palma da mão
• Russian: знать как свои́ пять па́льцев (znatʹ kak svoí pjatʹ pálʹcev, literally “to know like one's five fingers”)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: познавати као свој длан, познавати као свој џеп

  Roman: poznavati kao svoj dlan, poznavati kao svoj džep

• Spanish: conocer algo como la palma de su mano
• Swedish: känna som sin egen ficka (literally “to know like one's pocket”)

See also

• give someone the back of one's hand