behindhand means late, tardy, overdue, behind (in accomplishing a task, etc.). It carries an Arena rating of 1537, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, behindhand ranks #2,476 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #3,462 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #3,778 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #7,041 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
Why “behindhand” is a great word
Late or in arrears, as in completing a task or meeting an obligation. From the English words 'behind' and 'hand', formed by analogy with 'beforehand'; first recorded in use 1520–30. Unlike 'delinquent', which implies a culpable failure in duty, or 'belated', which describes a specific missed event, 'behindhand' describes a state of being—the quiet, lingering backlog. It is the half-finished letter buried under other papers, the unpaid bill on the mantelpiece gathering dust, the unspoken promise to visit a friend; a gentle, chronic condition of life slipping perpetually just out of sync, where time moves on, leaving one standing slightly out of step, hand outstretched toward a moment that has already closed.
Etymology
From behind + hand.
adj
- Late, tardy, overdue, behind (in accomplishing a task, etc.).
- Not at the expected point of completion.
- Behind (someone or something moving, a trend, etc.), lagging behind, not keeping up.e.g.“I have constantly observed, that the generality of people are fifty years, at least, behind-hand in their politicks.” — 1770, Edmund Burke, Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents, London: J. Dodsley, page 5:
- Behind in paying a debt; in arrears.
- Not having enough of, lacking (in something).
- Inferior, less advanced (compared with someone in something).e.g.“[…] I’ll shew you I scorn to be behind-hand in Civility with you; and as you are not angry for what I have said, so I am not angry for what you have said.” — 1749, Henry Fielding, chapter 6, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book XV, page 148:
adv
- Belatedly, tardily.
- In debt, or in arrears.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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