green thumb
8
3.6
- noun
- /ɡrin θʌm/
- Informal
:
pulgar verde
- My grandmother has a green thumb; her garden is always blooming with beautiful flowers.
- got a green thumb
- need a green thumb
Examples
-
Maria has a marvelous green thumb—will she really fail to get the flowers back into their beds?
Fiction book (1998) -
Would you teach me how to have a green thumb?
-
I thought you had a green thumb.
-
Yeah, you must be a green thumb.
-
I got a real green thumb.
-
With a green thumb like yours, l sure could use your help at my place.
-
His mother said to him, "You have a green thumb."
Fiction book (1997) -
I do not have a green thumb.
Fiction book (1991) -
Mother always did have a green thumb.
Fiction book (1990) -
You've got the green thumb!
Synonyms
1
6.5
A natural ability to make plants grow well and stay healthy
Antonyms
How Skilled
Surface Forms
Morphology
green + thumb
The components 'green' (associated with plants) and 'thumb' (a body part suggesting manual ability) provide a clear metaphorical cue that relates to gardening skill, so learners could plausibly infer the domain. However, the exact conventionalized meaning 'a natural talent for making plants grow' is idiomatic and not fully predictable without exposure; different languages use different metaphors (e.g. 'green fingers' in British English), so this is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The idiom green thumb may come from gardeners whose thumb actually became green from touching plants and leaves, creating a strong picture of hands busy with gardening. That's why the phrase means 'a natural ability to make plants grow'.