Synonyms for twiddle one's thumbs
- do nothing
- not lift a finger
- sit it out
- sit on one's hands
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Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the
Philip Lief Group.
WORD ORIGIN
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.
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the
Philip Lief Group.