twiddle

"It's July 2023. Building out the leadership of that operation today, so they can sit around and twiddle their thumbs for the next six months would be nuts," he said.

From Reuters ● Jul. 18, 2023

“You know it’s going to end. So you can’t just sit around and twiddle your thumbs.”

From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2021

We have no more time to twiddle our collective thumbs.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 11, 2020

Michael Connelly’s detective is never one to twiddle thumbs, of course.

From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2019

“I twiddle about with lines of verse now and then, but it’s only a hobby. In any case, thank you for indulging me.”

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

For his part, Adam twiddles his own curly locks with one raised hand, seemingly in nervous anticipation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 18, 2024

Liberated from chronology and fact, the comedy-drama twiddles the timeline of Catherine’s career and marriage.

From New York Times ● Dec. 26, 2021

There were still the little tricks and twiddles, particularly early on, before the game got away from him, before the little kicks and frustrations began to chip away at his joy.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 21, 2020

“We can’t afford to allow more devastation to be caused to the park while the Park Service twiddles their thumbs trying to come up with an expensive plan,” Gosar said in a statement this week.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 26, 2016

He twiddles his thumbs and takes a few measured breaths.

From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

You could follow the text at the bottom of the screen, but most people just twiddled their thumbs and waited.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2025

One of the most stunning allegations Thursday was that while Ohtani twiddled his batting gloves, Mizuhara refused to allow anyone else on his business team to view Ohtani’s $16-million spigot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2024

There was a woman in a leather hat complaining that she had been treated rudely by a county worker, a man watching while he twiddled a Rubik’s Cube.

From New York Times ● Nov. 5, 2022

Give me the name of an unexpected collaborator and chances are he’s twiddled knobs in their vicinity.

From The Guardian ● May 5, 2018

Doctor Gordon twiddled a silver pencil "Your mother tells me you are upset."

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

Swinney accused UK ministers of "twiddling their thumbs" while the cost of living for rural households skyrockets.

From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2026

“It’s not like we’re twiddling our thumbs and trying to get some money. This is a very serious condition,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2026

Meanwhile Miami, which had been ranked behind Notre Dame, and like the Irish, had been inactive and twiddling thumbs over conference championship weekend, vaulted over South Bend.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 8, 2025

The court granted cert to the case on Wednesday, after twiddling its thumbs for 16 days, and it scheduled oral arguments for April 22.

From Slate ● Mar. 2, 2024

The men within the door stared at one another, shifting on their boots, twiddling their fingers, and holding onto their hip belts.

From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury