Meanings
adjectiveall thumbs (not comparable)
- idiomaticnot comparableClumsy; awkward; not dextrous.
I am all thumbs when it comes to shuffling cards.
Synonyms: all fingers and thumbs
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveClumsy; awkward; not dextrous.
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Origin
From the proverb "when he should get aught, each finger is a thumb", from John Heywood's Collection of 1546.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Cantonese 雞手鴨腳 /鸡手鸭脚
- 雞手鴨腳 /鸡手鸭脚 (gai¹ sau² aap³ goek³)clumsy (idiom)
Chinese Mandarin 笨手笨腳 /笨手笨脚
- 笨手笨腳 /笨手笨脚 (bènshǒu-bènjiǎo)clumsy (idiom)
Finnish peukalo keskellä kämmentä
- peukalo keskellä kämmentäclumsy (idiom)
French avoir deux mains gauches
- avoir deux mains gauchesclumsy (idiom)
German zwei linke Hände haben
- zwei linke Hände habenclumsy (idiom)
Japanese 不器用な, ぶざまな
- 不器用な (bukiyō na)clumsy (idiom)
- ぶざまな (buzama na)clumsy (idiom)
Norwegian ha ti tommeltotter
- ha ti tommeltotterclumsy (idiom)
Polish mieć dziurawe ręce
- mieć dziurawe ręceclumsy (idiom)
Portuguese ter dois pés esquerdos
- ter dois pés esquerdosclumsy (idiom)
Swedish ha tummen mitt i handen
- ha tummen mitt i handenclumsy (idiom)
Turkish beceriksiz, sakar
- beceriksizclumsy (idiom)
- sakarclumsy (idiom)
Cite this entry
APA
all thumbs. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all%20thumbs
MLA
“all thumbs.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all%20thumbs. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “all thumbs,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all%20thumbs.
Source: all thumbs on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.