Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

all thumbs

Cultural  

  1. Clumsy or awkward: “Where plumbing is concerned, Walter is all thumbs.”

all thumbs Idioms  

  1. Physically awkward, especially with respect to the hands, as in When it comes to knitting, Mary is all thumbs. The notion of this idiom derives from a proverb in John Heywood's collection of 1546: “When he should get aught, each finger is a thumb.”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“I asked J.P. for a scouting report on Frazier as a shortstop and he was all thumbs up, saying he could handle it,” Servais said.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 15, 2022

All that talk last week about the broken toe of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and yet in this game, the Rams were all thumbs.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 28, 2021

But when personnel moves aren’t front and center, the show’s kid gloves become all thumbs.

From Slate • Aug. 28, 2019

"I just got the final inspections: health, fire, the liquor board, all thumbs up."

From Seattle Times • Mar. 16, 2011

Well, I’ve faced the matinee crowds on the West End and lived to tell about it, but I’m all thumbs in the kitchen.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.