twiddle
[twid-l]
- to turn about or play with lightly or idly, especially with the fingers; twirl.
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- to play or trifle idly with something; fiddle.
- to turn about lightly; twirl.
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- the act of twiddling; turn; twirl.
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- twiddle one's thumbs, to do nothing; be idle: Business was slack, and the salespeople were twiddling their thumbs.
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Origin of twiddle
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
twiddle
- (when intr, often foll by with) to twirl or fiddle (with), often in an idle way
- to do nothing; be unoccupied
- (intr) to turn, twirl, or rotate
- (intr) rare to be occupied with trifles
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- an act or instance of twiddling
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Word Origin
C16: probably a blend of twirl + fiddle
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for twiddle one's thumbs
twiddle
v.
1540s, "to trifle," of unknown origin; of the fingers, first recorded 1670s. Figurative phrase twiddle one's thumbs "have nothing to do" is recorded from 1846; to twirl one's thumbs in the same sense is recorded from 1816. Related: Twiddled; twiddling.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with twiddle one's thumbs
twiddle one's thumbs
Be bored or idle, as in There I sat for three hours, twiddling my thumbs, while he made call after call. This expression alludes to the habit of idly turning one's thumbs about one another during a period of inactivity. [Mid-1800s]
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.