put the finger on

Idioms  

1. Inform on, as in The witness put the finger on the defendant. [Slang; c. 1920] Also see put one's finger on.

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Example Sentences

"It is hard to put the finger on," he replied to an opening question, like a mechanic mystified by a misfiring car engine.

From BBC • Nov. 6, 2022

On removing this some weeks later, he discovered he had put the finger on the wrong way round.

From The Guardian • Jul. 11, 2019

“Don’t put the finger on me, because that’s what you’re doing.”

From New York Times • Jan. 21, 2018

“At any moment he is going to put the finger on you,” she wrote.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2016

But O, sovereign wisdom of bywords! how true they put the finger on each nation's, or particular's, fault.

From The Cloister and the Hearth by Reade, Charles