be twiddling (one's) thumbs
To be waiting idly because one cannot take action or has nothing to do at the moment. Although the phrase refers to an actual gesture (in which one's fingers are interlaced and each thumb is brought over the other in succession), the phrase is usually used figuratively. I was twiddling my thumbs and minding my own business when the security guard asked me if I had permission to be there. I'm just twiddling my thumbs here in the ER, waiting for someone to give me an update on Claire's condition. Sir, we've been twiddling our thumbs here for hours. When is someone going to process our paperwork?
twiddle (one's) thumbs
To wait idly because one cannot take action or has nothing to do at the moment. Although the phrase refers to an actual movement of the hand (in which one's fingers are interlaced and each thumb is brought over the other in succession), the phrase is usually used figuratively. I'm just twiddling my thumbs here in the ER, waiting for someone to give me an update on Claire's condition.
twiddle with (someone)
To play with something in one's hands idly, especially by turning it over or around repeatedly; to fiddle with something. She has this annoying habit of twiddling with her necklace whenever she's speaking. Stop twiddling with that cathode, or you'll end up breaking it!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
twiddle one's thumbs
Fig. to pass the time by twirling one's thumbs. What am I supposed to do while waiting for you? Sit here and twiddle my thumbs? Don't sit around twiddling your thumbs. Get busy!
twiddle with something
to play with something; to play with something, using one's fingers; to fiddle with something. I asked Jason to stop twiddling with the pencils. Someone is twiddling with the stereo controls.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
twiddle one's thumbs
Be bored or idle, as in There I sat for three hours, twiddling my thumbs, while he made call after call. This expression alludes to the habit of idly turning one's thumbs about one another during a period of inactivity. [Mid-1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
be twiddling your thumbs
If you are twiddling your thumbs, you are waiting with nothing useful to do. I'd far rather be cleaning than twiddling my thumbs waiting for the boys to wake up. There is a lot of team work too and no one is ever left twiddling their thumbs.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
twiddle your thumbs
be bored or idle because you have nothing to do.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
ˌtwiddle your ˈthumbs
(informal) do nothing while you are waiting for something to happen: I had to sit at home twiddling my thumbs, waiting for the phone to ring.If you twiddle your thumbs, you move them around each other while your fingers are joined together.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
twiddle one’s thumbs
tv. to do nothing; to wait nervously, playing with one’s fingers. I sat twiddling my thumbs while you were out doing I don’t know what all!
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
twiddle (one's) thumbs
To do little or nothing; be idle.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
twiddle one's thumbs, to
To be bored; to be idle. The habit of idly turning one’s thumbs about each other during a period of enforced inactivity gave rise to this cliché, which began life in the mid-nineteenth century. “You’d have all the world do nothing . . . but twiddle its thumbs,” wrote Douglas Jerrold (Mrs. Caudle’s Curtain Lectures, 1846).
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer