Posted by Nash Biani
Speak English Fluently With The Help Of Idioms
twiddle one’s thumbs
What is the meaning of this idiom?
How do we use it while speaking English?
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Speak English Fluently With The Help Of Idioms |
Use of 'twiddle one's thumbs' in spoken English
twiddle one’s thumbs: to be idle for a while, to do
nothing for some time, usually while
waiting for someone to arrive or for something to happen.
This idiom has negative overtones in the sense that it is
used either as a complaint by the speaker or to say that someone had a bad time
waiting for somebody or for something to happen.
Exmples:
1. 'The train was late so I sat on the platform twiddling my
thumbs for almost an hour.'
This means it was frustrating to wait for the train but I
had no option. I was forced to wait for the train to arrive.
2. 'Ramesh had to twiddle his thumbs for quite a long time
because his wife was getting dressed to go to the party.'
Ramesh did not like waiting for his wife to get dressed but
they couldn’t leave for the party until she got dressed.
3. 'Have a heart, John. Don't do this to Beth. You go
off with your friends all the time and the poor thing is left twiddling her thumbs.'
John treats Beth badly. He goes out with his friends and
Beth has a bad time waiting for him.
Wrong use of this idiom while speaking English
We should be careful that we don’t try to use this in a
positive sense when we speak English.
The examples given below
show wrong use of this idiom.
1. ‘You go ahead and complete your work. I’ll sit here and
twiddle my thumbs.' Not correct
Saying this would make it sound sarcastic. The listener may
misunderstand what you are trying to say.
Instead, say this:
‘You go ahead and complete your work. I'll wait here till you
finish it.’
2. ‘I don’t mind twiddling my thumbs while my girlfriend
gets dressed to go out with me.’ Not correct
This would be wrong. Here again, the listener would think
that you don’t really like waiting for your girlfriend to get dressed and that
you are being sarcastic about it.
Instead, say this:
‘I don’t mind waiting while my girlfriend gets dressed to go
out with me.’
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