all thumbs

Cultural  

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

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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.”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

all thumbs

He’s all thumbs in the exposé “The Teenager Who Hacked Twitter” on a new “The New York Times Presents.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2020

Ponsoldt—who also directed The Spectacular Now and The End of the Tour—has a great feel for intimate conversation, but he’s all thumbs when it comes to The Circle’s attempt at stylized allegory.

From Slate ● Apr. 27, 2017

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

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 16, 2011

As for navigating the Raiders page, it helps if you're all thumbs.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 17, 2010

‘Don’t push your luck, brother. Briares has fifty faces; all of them are ugly. He’s got a hundred hands, and he’s still all thumbs around the house.’

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• bulky
• heavy-handed
• inept
• ponderous
• ungainly
• unwieldy