definitions

sticky fingers

|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sticky fingers ON THESAURUS.COM

plural noun Informal.

a propensity to steal.

RELATED CONTENT

🖕- middle finger emoji - What does the middle finger emoji mean?Read more in this article about some frequently asked questions and fun facts related to our definitions.
READ MORE
🖕- middle finger emoji - What does the middle finger emoji mean?Read more in this article about some frequently asked questions and fun facts related to our definitions.
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

rapacious, crooked, larcenous, cunning, pilfering, criminal, dishonest, fraudulent, furtive, predatory, secretive, sly, stealthy, light-fingered, thievish, stealing

Nearby words

stickwork, sticky, sticky blood, sticky bun, sticky end, sticky fingers, sticky note, sticky rice, sticky wicket, sticky willie, sticky-fingered

Origin of sticky fingers

First recorded in 1930–35
Related formsstick·y-fin·gered [stik-ee-fing-gerd] /ˈstɪk iˈfɪŋ gərd/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sticky-fingered

  • “All this is on Sammy,” Perry said, pointing at the huge barbecue smoker, the crowds of sticky-fingered gorgers.

    Makers|Cory Doctorow

  • Women with slim-shanked, whining, sticky-fingered children dragging after them.

    A Book of Burlesques|H. L. Mencken

British Dictionary definitions for sticky-fingered

sticky-fingered

adjective

informal given to thieving
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with sticky-fingered

sticky fingers

A propensity to steal, as in You'd better not leave any cash around; she's known for her sticky fingers. This metaphor makes it seem as if valuables adhere naturally to a thief's fingers. [Colloquial; late 1800s]

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