to twiddle one's thumbs
1
6.8
- idiom
- Informal
:
no hacer nada
- She couldn't help but twiddle her thumbs in boredom as the train was delayed.
Examples
-
How long can I sit here twiddling my thumbs?
-
And what am I supposed to do, twiddle my thumbs?
-
Hate to see you two guys just sitting around, twiddling your thumbs.
-
You say I have brains, then make me... sit around and twiddle my thumbs.
-
We got the best doctors in the country lined up and twiddling their thumbs waiting for you to get there.
-
Guess I'm gonna go twiddle my thumbs until my boyfriend gets back from the moon in a couple of months.
Blog text (9) -
I didn't expect you to twiddle your thumbs for a year.
-
While waiting for the meeting to start, I found myself twiddling my thumbs and feeling impatient.
-
Instead of finishing his project, he just sat there twiddling his thumbs until dinner.
Synonyms
71
2.5
To spend time doing nothing while waiting for someone or something
12
8.1
Not do anything when action is needed
4
5.8
To do nothing while you wait for something to happen
3
6.3
Spend time waiting without making progress, doing unproductive things
1
8.7
To waste time doing small unimportant things
1
7.4
To do nothing when someone should act
To spend time doing small unimportant things with no real plan
Antonyms
How Idle
- Informal
1
6.8
- Informal
350
1.1
- Informal
407
2.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'twiddle' (to move with the fingers) combined with 'one's thumbs' creates a clear, literal image of idly moving the thumbs; this action is commonly associated with waiting or doing nothing. Because the constituent meanings compose directly and the gesture/logic exists cross-linguistically, a B1 learner who knows the words will very likely infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Twiddle one's thumbs comes from the small, nervous movement people make when they twiddle their thumbs together while they wait. That's why it means 'to do nothing' or 'be idle' while waiting.