sticky fingers

American  

plural noun

Informal.

1. a propensity to steal.

---

sticky fingers Idioms  

1. 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]

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sticky-fingered
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of sticky fingers

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

One fuzzy blink after another — and always just an inch from the grasp of sticky fingers — the lightning bugs begin to fill the air.

From Salon • May 10, 2024

“I clean 13 rooms a day,” said Dorado, who added that mini-suites with kids are the toughest, because they bring in sand from the beach and smudge the windows with sticky fingers.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 15, 2023

The saliva coats the papillae, which can act like tiny sticky fingers to help grip prey, David Hu, a biomechanics researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and his colleagues reported in 2017.

From Science Magazine • May 24, 2023

Or if you can’t wait and don’t mind sticky fingers, dig in.

From Washington Post • Aug. 28, 2022

We stared at our twisted reflections in the mirror maze, ate powdered-sugar-dusted elephant ears, banged out our aggression on the bumper cars, and got sticky fingers from cotton candy.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson