1.
hand-operated; hand-cranked; manual
operated by turning a handle by hand rather than by electricity or motor
手回しの発電機。
A hand-cranked generator.
昔は手回しのミシンを使っていた。
In the old days, they used hand-operated sewing machines.
手回しオルガンの音が聞こえてきた。
The sound of a hand-cranked organ could be heard.
2.
preparation; arrangements; making arrangements in advance
preparing or arranging things beforehand, often behind the scenes
手回しよく準備してあった。
Preparations had been made efficiently in advance.
彼は手回しがいい。
He is good at making arrangements.
既に手回しが済んでいたようだ。
It seems the arrangements had already been made.
手回し has two distinct senses: hand-operated (physical) and making arrangements (abstract).
SENSE 1 — HAND-OPERATED:
Used as a modifier before nouns to describe hand-cranked or manually operated devices:
- 手回しオルガン: hand-cranked organ
- 手回しの発電機: hand-cranked generator
- 手回しのミシン: hand-operated sewing machine
SENSE 2 — ARRANGEMENTS:
Often used in set expressions about preparing or arranging things efficiently:
- 手回しがいい: good at making arrangements
- 手回しよく: with good preparation, efficiently
- 手回しが済む: arrangements are complete
RELATED WORDS:
- 根回し: behind-the-scenes groundwork, consensus-building
- 段取り: planning, preparation steps
- 準備: preparation (general)