hand's-breadth

British  

noun

1. another name for handbreadth

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Example Sentences

“Every little pebble was distinct, every speckled trout, every hand’s-breadth of sand,” Mark Twain wrote of his unimpeded glimpse into Lake Tahoe’s depths in “Roughing It.”

From New York Times • Jan. 14, 2013

No eye can venture to compass more than a hand's-breadth.

From Time Magazine Archive

I have a bed which is about a hand's-breadth wide .

From Time Magazine Archive

Every little pebble was distinct, every speckled trout, every hand's-breadth of sand.

From The Lake of the Sky Lake Tahoe in the High Sierras of California and Nevada, its History, Indians, Discovery by Frémont, Legendary Lore, Various Namings, Physical Characteristics, Glacial Phenomena, Geology, Single Outlet, Automobile Routes, Historic Towns, Early Mining Excitements, Steamer Ride, Mineral Springs, Mountain and Lake Resorts, Trail and Camping Out Trips, Summer Residences, Fishing, Hunting, Flowers, Birds, Animals, Trees, and Chaparral, with a Full Account of the Tahoe National Forest, the Public Use of the Water of Lake Tahoe and Much Other Interesting Matter by James, George Wharton

With a hand's-breadth further flight, it would have fallen into the water, and have given the little brook another woe to carry onward, besides the unintelligible tale which it still kept murmuring about.

From The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne, Nathaniel