Let’s Change What It Means to “Manhandle”

I was just struck by the word “manhandle.” How sad that our language reflects the assumption that handling something like a man means “to handle roughly,” according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Their short list of synonyms? “Maltreat, maul, mishandle, rough (up).”

Let’s change that. Dictionaries get updated based on the way people actually use words. So let’s change what it means to handle something like a man.

What would you like it to mean?

(Photo by Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash)