How to use twiddle in a sentence. Thumb twiddling is an activity that is done with the hands of an individual whereby the fingers are interlocked and the thumbs circle around a common focal point, usually in the middle of the distance between the two thumbs. While it is an expression of at least a moderate amount of manual dexterity, thumb twiddling is frequently used as an example of a useless, time-wasting activity. twiddle your thumbs From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English twiddle your thumbs twiddle your thumbs informal to do nothing while you are waiting for something to happen Let’s go – there’s no point in sitting here twiddling our thumbs. Related: Twiddled; twiddling. . Figurative phrase twiddle one's thumbs "have nothing to do" is recorded from 1846; to twirl one's thumbs in the same sense is recorded from 1816. The etymology dictionary says "twiddle" is of unknown origin and means "to trifle." Learn more. twiddle one's thumbs, to do nothing; be idle: Business was slack, and the salespeople were twiddling their thumbs. 3. ‘The General looked around quite nervously, twiddling his thumbs behind his back.’ ‘He perched on the edge of the seat twiddling his thumbs while gazing around the room.’ ‘To my surprise, she was actually twiddling her thumbs while looking around herself, a politely bored expression on her face.’ twiddle (v.) 1540s, "to trifle," of unknown origin, said to be probably imitative; of the fingers, "to twirl idly," first recorded 1670s. The literal meaning of twiddle one’s thumbs is to interlace the fingers and pass the thumbs over each other in a circling manner, repeatedly. To twiddle one’s thumbs means to engage in a time-wasting activity, to wait idly, to kill time while waiting for something to happen, to waste time. The figurative meaning of the term twiddle one’s thumbs was first used in the mid-1800s. To twirl or rotate without purpose. Synonyms for twiddle thumbs include loaf, idle, laze, loll, lounge, dally, dawdle, hang about, be idle and bum. Learn more. 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. To twiddle your thumbs definition: If you say that someone is twiddling their thumbs , you mean that they do not have... | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples “You’d have all the world do nothing . Your archive appears to have left this important issue unaddressed. “Thumbs” was released on October 6, 2016 as a promotional single for Sabrina Carpenter’s sophomore album EVOLution.It is the ninth song performed on Carpenter’s headline tour … | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples Find more similar words at wordhippo.com! 1.
Twiddle definition: If you twiddle something, you twist it or turn it quickly with your fingers . Dear Word Detective: Having spent a moment here and there twiddling my thumbs, I recently became curious about "twiddle's" origins. ‘Instead of twiddling your thumbs and letting frustration get the best of you, why not hit the road and discover the hidden treasures of the Vigie Peninsula?’ Origin Mid 16th century (in the sense ‘trifle’): apparently imitative, combining the notion twirl or twist with that of trifling action expressed by fiddle. Fig. [Mid-1800s] See also: thumb, twiddle twiddle your thumbs meaning: 1. to do nothing for a period of time, usually while you are waiting for something to happen: 2….
v.intr. 2. . Origin of twiddle 1530–40; perhaps blend of twitch and fiddle The track was written by Priscilla Renea and its producer Steve Mac . Synonyms for twiddle thumbs include loaf, idle, laze, loll, lounge, dally, dawdle, hang about, be idle and bum. To turn over or around idly or lightly; fiddle with: "Couples are twiddling swizzle sticks while waiting for their tables" (Bryan Miller).