hang

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.

'To get the hang of a thing,' is to get the knack, or habitual facility of doing it well. A low expression frequently heard among us. In the Craven Dialect of England is the word hank, a habit; from which this word hang may perhaps be derived.

If ever you must have an indifferent teacher for your children, let it be after they have got a fair start and have acquired the hang of the tools for themselves.--Prime, Hist. of Long Island, p. 82.

He had been in pursuit of the science of money-making all his life, but could never get the hang of it.--Pickings from the Picayune.

Suggs lost his money and his horse, but then he hadn't got the hang of the game.--Simon Suggs, p. 44.

"Well, now, I can tell you that the sheriffs are the easiest men for you to get the hang of; among all the public officers.--Greene on Gambling.

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Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.