Meanings
present singular third person pulls one's finger out · participle present pulling one's finger out · participle past pulled one's finger out · past pulled one's finger out
- idiomaticslangTo stop wasting time in preliminaries, and concentrate on the important task.
You've been sitting there all week. It's time you sorted yourself out and pulled your finger out!
1 more example
Speaking at Mayor's Question Time on February 24, Sheikh said: "It's time for the Government to pull its finger out and give TfL the funding package it needs in the wake of the pandemic.
2022 March 23, “Network News: Warning of risk to new-builds unless funding settlement agreed”, in RAIL, number 953, page 18Synonyms: pull finger
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo stop wasting time in preliminaries, and concentrate on the important task.
Origin
Ellipsis of pull one's finger out of one's arse, probably from the notion that one should not sit on one's hands.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish ryhtyä hommiin
- ryhtyä hommiinTranslations
French se sortir les doigts du cul
- se sortir les doigts du culTranslations
Norwegian få ut fingeren
- få ut fingerenTranslations
Polish brać się do roboty, wziąć się do roboty
- brać się do robotyTranslations
- wziąć się do robotyTranslations
Cite this entry
pull one's finger out. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20one's%20finger%20out
“pull one's finger out.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20one's%20finger%20out. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pull one's finger out,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20one's%20finger%20out.
Source: pull one's finger out on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.