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

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.

Read more on Salon

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.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Investigators then reached out to the California State Attorney Generals’ Office to request assistance in investigating the thefts, dubbed operation “Sticky Fingers.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times