Handout

Handout

A handout is something given freely or distributed "gratis" (without compensation). It can refer to materials handed out for presentation purposes or to a charitable gift, among other things.

During the Great Depression, many people lived entirely on handouts of one kind or another. The term became especially popular among hobos, who developed a system of signs and symbols to describe the nature, quantity, and availability of handouts.

In more recent times, the perceived ineffectiveness of simple welfare schemes has given the term a negative connotation. "Give a hand up, not a handout" is a common remark among proponents of workfare or other welfare-to-work systems. As the issue of homelessness has become more visible and controversial, handouts to panhandlers are more often frowned upon by those who believe the behavior encourages homelessness. The term "government handout" is often applied to both welfare systems as well as corporate welfare or pork. The implication is that a handout is unearned and undeserved, unlike a "donation" or "contribution".

Handouts may also refer to short, usually single-page assignments distributed in high school or college.

ee also

* Gift
* Alms


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Handout — Handout …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • handout — hand‧out [ˈhændaʊt] noun [countable] 1. money or goods that are given to someone, for example because they are poor: • Veterans said they re asking for jobs, not handouts. 2. a piece of paper with information on it, given to the people at a… …   Financial and business terms

  • Handout — ist ein Anglizismus (von engl.: (to) hand out = „aushändigen“) für das deutsche Wort Handreichung und bezeichnet: allgemein jede Art von Unterlagen (Tischvorlagen, Handzettel), die bei Vorträgen, Besprechungen und Konferenzen an die Teilnehmer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • handout — hand out, hand out hand out . 1. money or an object given in or as in a charitable gesture; also used of government disbursements to individuals for welfare; as, government hand outs to welfare clients. [PJC] 2. a printed circular distributed… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • handout — index donation, gratuity (present), largess (gift) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • handout — / hændaʊt/, it. /ɛn daut/ s. ingl. [dal verbo (to ) hand out distribuire ], usato in ital. al masch. [scritto contenente appunti, esempi e sim., che si distribuisce ai partecipanti a un seminario e sim.] ▶◀ ‖ ciclostilato …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • handout — {{/stl 13}}{{stl 7}}[wym. hendaut] {{/stl 7}}{{stl 8}}rz. mnż I, D. u, Mc. handoutoucie {{/stl 8}}{{stl 7}} pomocniczy tekst zawierający pewne informacje i materiały dotyczące treści wygłaszanego referatu, wykładu itp., rozdawany słuchaczom… …   Langenscheidt Polski wyjaśnień

  • handout — ► NOUN 1) an amount of money or other aid given to a needy person or organization. 2) a piece of printed information provided free of charge, especially to accompany a lecture …   English terms dictionary

  • handout — ☆ handout [hand′out΄ ] n. 1. a gift of food, clothing, etc., as to a beggar 2. a pamphlet, leaflet, etc. handed out as for publicity or information 3. NEWS RELEASE …   English World dictionary

  • handout — noun 1 food/money given to people who need it badly ADJECTIVE ▪ free ▪ government, state (esp. BrE) ▪ cash VERB + HANDOUT ▪ give (sb) …   Collocations dictionary

  • handout — [[t]hæ̱ndaʊt[/t]] handouts 1) N COUNT A handout is a gift of money, clothing, or food, which is given free to poor people. Soldiers oversee the food handouts... Each family is being given a cash handout of six thousand rupees. 2) N COUNT… …   English dictionary

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