Mentor Josephan's Idiom of The Day #10 - All Thumbs!

6 years ago

It would be so unfair to single out one thumb idiom when there are so many, so, here are a few, did I forget any?

1.  All thumbs
Awkward; clumsy; bungling:
The visitor almost knocked over a vase and stumbled on the stairs, she seemed to be all thumbs.

2.  thumb one's nose
to put one's thumb to one's nose and extend the fingers as a crudely defiant or contemptuous gesture.
to express defiance or contempt; dismiss or reject contemptuously.

3. thumbs down
a gesture or expression of dissent or disapproval:
We turned thumbs down to that suggestion.

4.  thumbs up
a gesture or expression of assent or approval.
The Boss gave a thumbs up to my suggestion.

5.  under one's thumb
under the power or influence of; subordinate to.If someone is under your thumb, they are completely under your control or influence.
Nobody ever protests.  He has the whole group under his thumb.

6.  Rule of thumb
a principle that is kept to
a guide that is based on practice rather than theory
a general principle that comes through experience and not any scientific means
a practical and approximate way
1.  As a rule of thumb, I do not start a new project on Fridays.
2.  A good rule of thumb is to add the ingredients when the water starts to boil.
3.  During our boot camp in the jungle, we used to drink a glass of water every two hours as a rule of thumb.
4.  Going by the rule of thumb, it would take two hours to compile the data in each of these files.
5.  As a rule of thumb, we never went camping near water bodies during the rains.
6.  A useful rule of thumb in serving food is that two handfuls make a portion.

7.  stick out like a sore thumb
 If something sticks out like a sore thumb, it is very obvious or visible in an unpleasant way.
The modern building sticks out like a sore thumb among the old houses. 

Idiom: a group of words that means something different than the individual words it contains.
"Americans use about four idioms in every minute of conversation. If you don't see the light of American English Idiom, you're in the dark understanding American English!"  Mentor Josephan P. Sterling 
Every day I will post a new Idiom, so stay tuned to Mentor Josephan's Idiom of The Day. 
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