twiddling thumbs
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
When Basman’s king gets tired of his two-step, it’s the Black bishop’s turn to tick-tock between b7 and a8, again twiddling thumbs while White prepares for the final assault.
From Washington Times • Nov. 8, 2022
“We have the opportunity to prevent Zika in communities and microcephaly cases from Zika, and yet we are essentially twiddling thumbs waiting for those decisions to be made,” says Shah.
From Time • Jul. 1, 2016
Isaac in Drive In fact, it is the experience of being met by a blind eye for 10 years, twiddling thumbs as Ryan Gosling mops up the applause, that lends Isaac's performance its oomph.
From The Guardian • May 23, 2013
I was a make-believe writer twiddling thumbs at university trying to get in through the back door.
From New York Times • Jun. 25, 2012
