English Reference
Idiom idiom

all fingers and thumbs


Of a person, clumsy or awkward.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

I am all fingers and thumbs when I try to sew.

CONTEXTUAL

I felt all fingers and thumbs while trying to wrap the delicate gift in front of my boss.

COMPLEX

Despite his years of experience as a surgeon, he felt all fingers and thumbs as he attempted to tie the tiny, intricate knot.


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    all thumbs

    Clumsy; awkward; not dextrous.

  2. 02

    brown thumb

    A lack of skill at growing plants; a poor gardening skill.

  3. 03

    burn one's fingers

    To harm oneself; to suffer consequences of one's actions.

  4. 04

    butcher's thumb

    A dishonest practice in which a butcher uses their thumb to add extra weight to a scale when weighing meat.

  5. 05

    fash one's thumb

    To bother oneself; to worry about something.

  6. 06

    fat finger

    A supposed cause of typographical errors, especially keyboard errors, caused from erroneous key presses or typing errors on touchscreen devices.

  7. 07

    finger in the pie

    A share in the doing of something; involvement.

  8. 08

    finger to the wind

    An attention to or focus on or awareness of current or prevailing trends, public opinion, or shifting circumstances.

Last updated August 10, 2026