lift a finger

present singular third person lifts a finger · participle present lifting a finger · participle past lifted a finger · past lifted a finger

1. figurativelyTo make minimal effort; to help as little as possible.

   She lets me do all the work and never lifts a finger to help.

   4 more examples

   They weep when they see the country being so much exploited and yet nobody lifts a finger.

   1973, Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard): June 12 - July 27, page 904

   You've known about it all along, you haven't lifted a finger, so don't come crying to me. I don't have time for it.

   2004, Gerald Shapiro, Little men: novellas and stories, page 6

   Lifting a finger to greet is dangerous because it may make us feel guilty about not lifting a finger to help.

   2005, Larry T. McGehee, B. J. Hutto, Southern Seen: Meditations on Past and Present, page 80

   Distressed jeans bear all the signs of exertion, while the consumer never has to lift a finger. What could be more luxurious than that?

   2022, Carolyn Purnell, Blue Jeans, Bloomsbury, →ISBN, page 44

   Synonyms: move a finger, raise a finger, stir a finger

2. figurativelyTo take actual retaliatory or punitive action, as opposed to just complaining.

   I think living conditions need to get a lot worse before voters start to lift a finger.

3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see lift, finger.

   So if your next note involves lifting a finger, you need to plan to lift the finger promptly to above its spot on the string so that it's ready to play again at any time.

   2010, Katharine Rapoport, Violin For Dummies