And now, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English.
On this show we explore words and expressions a little more deeply. We give you synonyms – words that mean close to the same thing. And we use the expressions in a conversation.
Today we talk about our hands – more specifically our thumbs.
Most of us have one thumb and four fingers on each hand. Our thumbs let us perform certain tasks. But what if all our fingers were replaced with thumbs? Those tasks we normally perform with ease would become much more difficult.
In fact, we would lose the ability to do many things with our hands. Our movements would become careless and clumsy. We would drop things all the time.
And that is what the saying to be all thumbs means. If I am all thumbs, I lack grace with my hands. I am klutzy. So, people might call me a klutz.
They might also call me butterfingers. Imagine your fingers are coated in butter. They would be very slippery. And it would hard to pick things up.
Now, let’s hear the expression “to be all thumbs” in a conversation between two friends.