hop-o'-my-thumb

American  

[hop-uh-mahy-thuhm] / ˈhɒp ə maɪˈθʌm /

noun

1. a very small person, as a dwarf.

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Etymology

Origin of hop-o'-my-thumb

First recorded in 1520–30; noun use of imperative phrase hop on my thumb

Example Sentences

What wrath Mr. Scowler, A.R.A., was in, because a young hop-o'-my-thumb dandy, who wore gold chains and his collars turned down, should spoil the trade and draw portraits for nothing!

From The Newcomes Memoirs of a Most Respectable Family by Thackeray, William Makepeace

At the next station we drank large quantities of hot milk, flavored with butter, sugar and cinnamon, and then pushed on, with another chubby hop-o'-my-thumb as guide and driver.

From Northern Travel Summer and Winter Pictures of Sweden, Denmark and Lapland by Taylor, Bayard

And after vague hop-o'-my-thumb wanderings, he had a disconnected memory of Hugh—a wild, rugged, ragged, bearded Hugh who caught him up fiercely as though he had an ogrish hunger for the feel of little boys.

From Snow-Blind by Burt, Katharine Newlin

What!" cried Roquefinette, "is it about that little hop-o'-my-thumb that you are bothering yourself?

From The Conspirators The Chevalier d'Harmental by Dumas père, Alexandre

The kinglet was the least of all,—a sort of "hop-o'-my-thumb" bird.

From The Wit of a Duck and Other Papers by Burroughs, John