sticky fingers

plural noun

Informal.

1. a propensity to steal.

Other Word Forms

• sticky-fingered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sticky fingers¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

The old Penelope would never have taken it without permission, but Penelope “Sticky Fingers” Lumley, master criminal and friend to pirates, had no such hesitation.

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I soon follow suit and, with sticky fingers, reach for all the candies that have caught my eye: super lemon sour suckers, pink lemonade gushers, muscat gummies and soda-flavored hard candies.

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She’s definitely gotten over her sticky fingers habit, too, except that, well, on the day the book opens, someone leaves an expensive watch in the fitting room, and Jada can’t help but pocket it.

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I think he played “Sticky Fingers” from the Rolling Stones.

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Dubbed operation “Sticky Fingers,” a multi-agency investigation resulted in the arrest of 22 suspects alleged to have burglarized more than a dozen cannabis dispensaries in California.

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