Meaning & use
twiddling one's thumbs
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiom
spending time doing nothing because you are waiting for something to happen or for someone to arrive.
Grammar: Used after 'be' or 'sit' (or similar verbs): 'I was twiddling my thumbs.' The possessive pronoun changes with the subject.
Patterns
- be twiddling one's thumbs
- sit twiddling one's thumbs
- keep someone twiddling their thumbs
We arrived early, so we sat twiddling our thumbs in the waiting room for half an hour.
The manager kept us twiddling our thumbs while she took a long phone call.
After sending the application, I was just twiddling my thumbs, hoping for a reply.
phraseidiom
literally turning your thumbs around each other, often as a sign of boredom or nervousness.
Grammar: Used as a verb phrase, usually after 'be' or 'sit'. This literal sense is less common than the figurative one.
Patterns
- be twiddling one's thumbs
- sit twiddling one's thumbs
He sat twiddling his thumbs and staring out of the window.
The child was twiddling her thumbs while she waited for her turn.
Common combinations
- sit twiddling one's thumbs
- We sat twiddling our thumbs until the doctor called us.
- be twiddling one's thumbs
- I was twiddling my thumbs while the computer restarted.
- keep someone twiddling their thumbs
- Don't keep the guests twiddling their thumbs—serve the drinks now.
- left twiddling one's thumbs
- The staff were left twiddling their thumbs after the power cut.
Synonyms and how they differ
- idle
- Means not working or active, but does not always suggest waiting; it can simply describe a person or machine that is not in use.
- waiting around
- Focuses on the waiting itself and is more neutral; it does not necessarily suggest boredom or doing nothing with your hands.
- killing time
- Means doing something to make a wait seem shorter, so it often involves an activity, whereas twiddling your thumbs means doing nothing.
Opposites
Commonly confused: twiddling one's thumbs or twiddle your thumbs?
twiddling one's thumbs vs twiddle your thumbs
This is the same idiom but with 'your' instead of 'one's'. Use 'one's' in general statements and 'my/your/his/her' when you refer to a specific person.
Practice
Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Choose one answer.
The idiom requires a possessive pronoun that matches the subject ('her') and the plural noun 'thumbs'. Option 2 uses the singular 'thumb', option 3 omits the possessive, and option 4 uses 'the' instead of a possessive, which is not the fixed form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “twiddling one's thumbs”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.