He is a handsome-bodied man in the face; a jeering commendation of an ugly fellow. Handsome is that handsome does: a proverb frequently cited by ugly women.
Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.
Handle * Handsome RewardNathan Bailey's 1736 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang
John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes