green fingers
A seemingly natural gardening ability.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“She has green fingers and grows beautiful roses.”
“My grandmother has green fingers — everything she plants seems to thrive.”
“Though he had never studied horticulture, the young tenant displayed such green fingers that the neglected estate garden flourished within a single season.”
disputed origin
PIE word *pénkʷe From green (adjective) + fingers, possibly popularized by the British gardener and radio and television broadcaster Cecil Henry Middleton (1886–1945).
- 01
all fingers and thumbs
Of a person, clumsy or awkward.
- 02
burn one's fingers
To harm oneself; to suffer consequences of one's actions.
- 03
Chinese green
Synonym of lokao.
- 04
fat finger
A supposed cause of typographical errors, especially keyboard errors, caused from erroneous key presses or typing errors on touchscreen devices.
- 05
finger in the pie
A share in the doing of something; involvement.
- 06
finger to the wind
An attention to or focus on or awareness of current or prevailing trends, public opinion, or shifting circumstances.
- 07
fucked by the fickle finger of fate
Victimized by bad luck.
- 08
get one's finger out
To proceed with the matter in hand.
Last updated August 10, 2026