"all thumbs" meaning in English

See all thumbs in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

Etymology: From the proverb "when he should get aught, each finger is a thumb", from John Heywood's Collection of 1546. Head templates: {{en-adj|-}} all thumbs (not comparable)
  1. (idiomatic) Clumsy; awkward; not dextrous. Wikipedia link: John Heywood Tags: idiomatic, not-comparable Synonyms: all fingers and thumbs Related terms: mostly thumbs Translations (clumsy (idiom)): 雞手鴨腳 (Chinese Cantonese), 鸡手鸭脚 (gai¹ sau² aap³ goek³) (Chinese Cantonese), 笨手笨腳 (Chinese Mandarin), 笨手笨脚 (bènshǒu-bènjiǎo) (english: stupid hands, stupid feet) (Chinese Mandarin), peukalo keskellä kämmentä (Finnish), avoir deux mains gauches (French), zwei linke Hände haben (German), goffo (Italian), impacciato (Italian), maldestro (Italian), mano di pastafrolla (Italian), 不器用な (bukiyō na) (alt: ぶきような) (Japanese), ぶざまな (buzama na) (Japanese), tʼóó bílaʼ dijool (Navajo), ha ti tommeltotter (Norwegian), (mieć) dziurawe ręce (Polish), ter dois pés esquerdos (Portuguese), torpe (Spanish), ha tummen mitt i handen (Swedish)

Download JSON data for all thumbs meaning in English (4.0kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [],
  "etymology_text": "From the proverb \"when he should get aught, each finger is a thumb\", from John Heywood's Collection of 1546.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "all thumbs (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Cantonese terms with redundant transliterations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with redundant transliterations",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese terms with redundant script codes",
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        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Mandarin terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
            "Entry maintenance"
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          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I am all thumbs when it comes to shuffling cards.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Clumsy; awkward; not dextrous."
      ],
      "id": "en-all_thumbs-en-adj-udXMEVVF",
      "links": [
        [
          "Clumsy",
          "clumsy"
        ],
        [
          "awkward",
          "awkward"
        ],
        [
          "dextrous",
          "dextrous"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) Clumsy; awkward; not dextrous."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "mostly thumbs"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "all fingers and thumbs"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "yue",
          "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "雞手鴨腳"
        },
        {
          "code": "yue",
          "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
          "roman": "gai¹ sau² aap³ goek³",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "鸡手鸭脚"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "笨手笨腳"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "english": "stupid hands, stupid feet",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "bènshǒu-bènjiǎo",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "笨手笨脚"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "peukalo keskellä kämmentä"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "avoir deux mains gauches"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "zwei linke Hände haben"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "goffo"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "impacciato"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "maldestro"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "mano di pastafrolla"
        },
        {
          "alt": "ぶきような",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "bukiyō na",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "不器用な"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "buzama na",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "ぶざまな"
        },
        {
          "code": "nv",
          "lang": "Navajo",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "tʼóó bílaʼ dijool"
        },
        {
          "code": "no",
          "lang": "Norwegian",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "ha ti tommeltotter"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "(mieć) dziurawe ręce"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "ter dois pés esquerdos"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "ру́ки как крю́ки́ (rúki kak krjúkí, literally “hands like hooks”)",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "ру́ки не из того́ ме́ста расту́т (rúki ne iz tovó mésta rastút, literally “hands grow from the wrong spot”)",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "tags": [
            "euphemistic"
          ]
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "ру́ки из жо́пы расту́т (rúki iz žópy rastút, literally “hands grow from the arse, vulgar”)",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "tags": [
            "vulgar"
          ]
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "рукожо́п (rukožóp, literally “arse-handed”)",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "torpe"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
          "word": "ha tummen mitt i handen"
        }
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "John Heywood"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "all thumbs"
}
{
  "etymology_templates": [],
  "etymology_text": "From the proverb \"when he should get aught, each finger is a thumb\", from John Heywood's Collection of 1546.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "all thumbs (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
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  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "mostly thumbs"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "Cantonese terms with redundant transliterations",
        "English adjectives",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English uncomparable adjectives",
        "Japanese terms with redundant script codes",
        "Mandarin terms with non-redundant manual transliterations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I am all thumbs when it comes to shuffling cards.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Clumsy; awkward; not dextrous."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Clumsy",
          "clumsy"
        ],
        [
          "awkward",
          "awkward"
        ],
        [
          "dextrous",
          "dextrous"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) Clumsy; awkward; not dextrous."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "John Heywood"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "all fingers and thumbs"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "yue",
      "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "雞手鴨腳"
    },
    {
      "code": "yue",
      "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
      "roman": "gai¹ sau² aap³ goek³",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "鸡手鸭脚"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "笨手笨腳"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "english": "stupid hands, stupid feet",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "bènshǒu-bènjiǎo",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "笨手笨脚"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "peukalo keskellä kämmentä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "avoir deux mains gauches"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "zwei linke Hände haben"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "goffo"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "impacciato"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "maldestro"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "mano di pastafrolla"
    },
    {
      "alt": "ぶきような",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "bukiyō na",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "不器用な"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "buzama na",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "ぶざまな"
    },
    {
      "code": "nv",
      "lang": "Navajo",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "tʼóó bílaʼ dijool"
    },
    {
      "code": "no",
      "lang": "Norwegian",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "ha ti tommeltotter"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "(mieć) dziurawe ręce"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "ter dois pés esquerdos"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "ру́ки как крю́ки́ (rúki kak krjúkí, literally “hands like hooks”)",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "ру́ки не из того́ ме́ста расту́т (rúki ne iz tovó mésta rastút, literally “hands grow from the wrong spot”)",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "tags": [
        "euphemistic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "ру́ки из жо́пы расту́т (rúki iz žópy rastút, literally “hands grow from the arse, vulgar”)",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "tags": [
        "vulgar"
      ]
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "рукожо́п (rukožóp, literally “arse-handed”)",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "torpe"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "clumsy (idiom)",
      "word": "ha tummen mitt i handen"
    }
  ],
  "word": "all thumbs"
}

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