Ambidextrous
able to use both hands equally well:
an ambidextrous surgeon.
unusually skillful; facile:
an ambidextrous painter, familiar with all media.
double-dealing; deceitful.
Slang. .
Contemporary Examples
Of course, the ambidextrous ironies of the current situation work both ways.
Obama’s Tough Love for Detroit Paul Kedrosky March 30, 2009
Historical Examples
It is interesting to note that these birds, though fighting with one flipper only, are ambidextrous.
Antarctic Penguins George Murray Levick
I should say he was ambidextrous, but he uses his left hand by preference.
The Red Thumb Mark R. Austin Freeman
A genius, and ambidextrous, he could write sonnets with one hand and compose operas with the other.
Edgar Saltus: The Man Marie Saltus
For by nature the right hand is the stronger: but nevertheless it may happen that there are ambidextrous men.
Aristotle George Grote
Fortunately he was ambidextrous, could use his left hand almost as readily as his right, and this helped him immensely.
Bert Wilson, Wireless Operator J. W. Duffield
A man who is ambidextrous will sign his name differently with his right or left hand, but it is the same signature.
Real Ghost Stories William T. Stead
He is painting at a small easel and working in quite a wonderful manner, for he is ambidextrous.
Literary New York Charles Hemstreet
I am sorry to see that Erasmus imitated his enemies and at times was ambidextrous in the use of the literary stinkpot.
Little Journeys To The Homes Of Great Teachers Elbert Hubbard
Because it has been found that children trained on ambidextrous lines develop neurotic symptoms.
Feminism and Sex-Extinction Arabella Kenealy
adjective
equally expert with each hand
(informal) highly skilled or adept
underhanded; deceitful
adj.
1640s, with -ous, from ambidexter (adj.) “double-dealing” (1610s), from French ambidextre or directly from Latin ambidexter, literally “right-handed on both sides,” from ambi- “both” (see ambi-) + dexter “right-handed” (see dexterity). Its opposite, ambilevous “left-handed on both sides, clumsy” (1640s) is rare. Ambidexter as a noun, “one who takes bribes from both sides,” is attested from 1530s and is the earliest form of the word in English; its sense of “one who uses both hands equally well” appears by 1590s.
ambidextrous am·bi·dex·trous (ām’bĭ-děk’strəs)
adj.
Able to use both hands with equal facility.
adjective
Bisexual; ac-dc
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