heavy-handed

Definition

Clumsy; awkward.

Etymology

From heavy + hand + -ed, literally “having a heavy hand”. Compare Middle English hevitime, heviteme (“burdensome, grievous, grave”), from Old English hefiġtīme, hefiġtȳme (“grievous, wearisome, tedious, troublesome”).

Example Sentences

• "Some people say, 'I can't make pastry, I'm too heavy-handed.'"
• "Do not be too heavy-handed with the salt."
• "However, recently I got a little heavy-handed with the red pepper flakes."