twiddle one's thumbs

twiddle one's thumbs
a) to circle ones thumbs around one another, usually with the fingers interlaced, usually done idly while waiting or bored

He twiddled his thumbs for almost a week while he waited for somebody to set up his computer.

b) To wait or dawdle; to accomplish nothing useful or lack a useful occupation.

Wikipedia foundation.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • twiddle one's thumbs — {v. phr.} To do nothing; be idle. * /I d rather work than stand around here twiddling my thumbs./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • twiddle one's thumbs — {v. phr.} To do nothing; be idle. * /I d rather work than stand around here twiddling my thumbs./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • twiddle one's thumbs — ► twiddle one s thumbs be idle; have nothing to do. Main Entry: ↑twiddle …   English terms dictionary

  • twiddle one's thumbs — BE IDLE, kick one s heels, kill time, waste time; informal hang around/round; Brit. informal hang about. → twiddle * * * phrasal : to spend time vacantly : do nothing kept the manager busy and left me twiddling my thumbs * * * twiddle one s… …   Useful english dictionary

  • twiddle one's thumbs — idi twiddle one s thumbs, to do nothing; be idle …   From formal English to slang

  • twiddle one’s thumbs — tv. to do nothing; to wait nervously, playing with one’s fingers. □ I sat twiddling my thumbs while you were out doing I don’t know what all! □ Don’t just sit home twiddling your thumbs …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • twiddle one's thumbs —    A person who twiddles their thumbs has nothing to do, or is doing nothing useful.     Go and help your father! You can t sit there all day twiddling your thumbs! …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • twiddle one's thumbs — have nothing to do. → twiddle …   English new terms dictionary

  • twiddle\ one's\ thumbs — v. phr. To do nothing; be idle. I d rather work than stand around here twiddling my thumbs …   Словарь американских идиом

  • twiddle one's thumbs — not busy, not working He was sitting around twiddling his thumbs all day and didn t get any work done …   Idioms and examples

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”