all thumbs
4
6.5
- idiom
- Informal
- Fidel's all thumbs with this kind of thing.
Loading YouTube…
Watch on YouTubeI don't know how old the two of you are, but I'm old enough to remember that if you were clumsy, some of us say, hey, you're all thumbs.
- I don't know how old the two of you are, but I'm old enough to remember that if you were clumsy, some of us say, hey, you're all thumbs.
- Boy, Rick Perry was all thumbs last night when he tried to talk about the Pakistani country, otherwise known as Pakistan.
Examples
-
I would do it myself, but I am all thumbs.
-
I seem to be all thumbs this mornin'.
-
I'm all thumbs, you see.
-
Look at you, you're all thumbs.
-
- I'm all thumbs.
-
I'm all thumbs today.
-
I'm all thumbs!
-
I'm all thumbs.
-
I think I, an all-thumbs beginner, can actually make this simple lightbox for the books I am selling on eBay.
Blog text (19) -
I wanted to fix the broken toy, but I was all thumbs and couldn't manage it.
Synonyms
3
8.3
Not careful and clumsy when using hands or doing tasks
3
6.3
Clumsy when using the hands, often dropping or breaking things
1
2.2
Difficult to hold or carry because of large, awkward shape
1
7.8
Someone who often drops things with their hands
1
5.2
Clumsy with hands when doing simple tasks
Antonyms
How Clumsy
- Informal
4
6.5
- Informal
1
7.8
- Informal
2
7.5
95
1.2
37
3.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'very awkward or clumsy' cannot be directly derived from 'all' + 'thumbs' — a literal reading (made entirely of thumbs) is nonsensical and does not transparently map to clumsiness. Any link relies on an idiomatic, culture-specific metaphor (thumbs implying poor manual dexterity) that a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words is unlikely to infer without prior exposure.
Etymology
All thumbs paints a picture of hands made only of thumbs, so you could not do small, careful things; one popular story says people used this silly image to show someone who was awkward with their hands. That's why it means 'very clumsy' or 'bad at handling things'.