THUMB
4. As a measure (also more fully, thumb's breadth): The breadth of the thumb, taken as equal to an inch. Formerly it was usual to allow a 'thumb' in addition to each yard (of cloth, etc.) measured; this is still the practice in the cloth trade.
[1611 COTGR., Poulcée, an inch, or inch-measure; the breadth of a thumbe.] 1622 MALYNES Anc. Law-Merch. 52 A thumbe or Inch is 6 Graines or Barleycornes. 1634 SANDERSON Serm. 1 Sam. xii. 3 §29 False weights, false measures, false thumbs, false lights, false marks. 1711 Act 10 Anne c. 16 §4 One Table..with the Length of a Yard nailed or marked thereupon; to which shall be added one Inch more, which shall be used instead of that which is commonly called a Thumb's Breadth. 1812 J. SMYTH Pract. of Customs (1821) 126 (Linen) The practice of allowing what is termed a Thumb is now discontinued by the Board's order [8th May, 1806].
5. Phrases. a. thumb of gold, a golden thumb, miller's thumb: in reference either to the alleged dishonesty of millers or to the lucrative character of their trade. b. to bring (a person) above the thumb, to turn over the thumb, to get or have under one's control; cf. 'to twist round one's finger'. Obs. c. one's fingers all thumbs (etc.): said of a person who is clumsy or wanting in dexterity. d. to hit (cross) one over (of, on) the thumbs, to punish or reprove sharply, 'rap one's knuckles'. e. (a) to bite one's thumbs, as an indication of anger or vexation; (b) to bite the thumb at, as an insult: see BITE v. 16. f. under (the) thumb, secretly, confidentially. Obs. g. under the thumb of, entirely at the disposal or direction of, completely subservient to. h. (a) In expressions referring to the use of the thumb by the spectators in the ancient amphitheatre, to indicate approbation or the opposite: see quot. 1880; (b) in mod. use (with significance the reverse of that in the ancient amphitheatre): thumbs down, up, gestures made with the fingers closed and the thumb pointing vertically downwards (indicating disapproval or rejection) or upwards (as a sign of approval, acceptance, encouragement, etc.); also attrib. and fig.
a. c1386-1876 [see MILLER1 1b].
b. 1469 J. PASTON in P. Lett. II. 356 Thow thou can begyll the Dwk of Norffolk, and bryng hym abow the thombe as thow lyst, I let the wet thow shalt not do me so. 1577 J. NORTHBROOKE Dicing 48 The gaine gotten by this playe at Dice, where all is gotten with a trice ouer the thumbe. 1603 DEKKER Wonderfull Yeare Fiv, Shee would haue tickled them, and turned them ouer the thumbs.
c. 1546 J. HEYWOOD Prov. (1562) Giijb, Whan he should get ought, eche fynger is a thumbe. 1870 Echo 16 Nov., Your uneducated man is all thumbs, as the phrase runs; and what education does for him is to supply him with clever fingers. 1872 Routledge's Ev. Boy's Ann. 155/2 Whose fingers were reported..to be 'all thumbs'.
d. 1522 SKELTON, Thwartyng ouer thom [see THWART v. 2]. a1548 HALL Chron., Hen. VII 33 In the later ende of hys oracion, he a litle rebuked the lady Margaret and hyt her of [GRAFTON on] the thombes. 1553 T. WILSON Rhet. (1580) 3 The Philosopher..did hit a yong man ouer the Thumbes verie handsomely, for vsyng ouer old, and ouer straunge woordes. Ibid. 137, I haue knowen some so hitte of the thumbes, that thei could not tell..whether [etc.]. 1591 GREENE Farew. to Follie Wks. (Grosart) IX. 285 Peratio..thought to crosse Benedetto ouer the thumbs. 1594 LODGE & GREENE Looking Glasse (Hunter. Cl.) 9 Well said Smith, that crost him ouer the thumbs.
e. 1573 Satir. Poems Reform. xlii. 266 The Clerk was like to byte his thowmis. 1592 SHAKES. Rom. & Jul. I. i. 49. [1596 LODGE Wits Misery 23 Giuing me the Fico with his thombe in his mouth.] 1608 DEKKER Dead Term Divb, What shouldering, what Justling, what Jeering, what byting of Thumbs to beget quarels. 1638 RANDOLPH Muses Looking-Gl. III. iii, Daggs, and Pistolls! To bite his thumb at me? 1670 G. H. Hist. Cardinals II. II. 158 The Spaniards were nettled, and bit their thumbs..in private. 1863 Chambers' Bk. Days 11 Mar. I. 358 It is very probable that..the act of biting the thumb was not so much a gesture of insulting contempt as a threat.
f. 1586 J. HOOKER Hist. Irel. in Holinshed II. 89/1 Diuerse other secret vnderminers, who wrought so cunninglie vnder the thumbe..as if Kildare had prospered,..their malice would not haue beene in manner suspected. 1596 DALRYMPLE tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. (S.T.S.) I. 171 This consuetude..was, as we vse to speik, vndir thoume stil reteined. a1693 Urquhart's Rabelais III. xxxvi. 299 Privily and under Thumb.
g. 1754 RICHARDSON Grandison IV. xxix. 181 She..is obliged to be silent. I have her under my thumb. 1809 MALKIN Gil Blas VII. xiii. 6 Authors..are under the thumb of booksellers and players. 1889 JESSOPP Coming of Friars ii. 65 The lord was a petty king, having his subjects very much under his thumb.
h. 1601 HOLLAND Pliny XXVIII. ii. 297 To bend or bow downe the thumbes when wee give assent unto a thing, or doe favour any person. 1693 DRYDEN Juvenal's Sat. iii. 68 Where..With Thumbs bent back, they popularly kill. 1880 LEWIS & SHORT s.v. Pollex, To close down the thumb (premere) was a sign of approbation; to extend it (vertere, convertere; pollex infestus) a sign of disapprobation. 1887 R. GARNETT Life Carlyle iv, They had unanimously turned their thumbs up. 'Sartor', the publisher acquainted him, 'excites universal disapprobation'. 1906 KIPLING Puck of Pook's Hill 180 We're finished menthumbs down against both of us. 1907 R. Y. TYRRELL in Academy 9 Mar. 234/1 'Thumbs down' means 'spare him..': the signal for death was 'thumbs up'. 1917 A. G. EMPEY Over Top 311 Thumbs up, Tommy's expression which means 'everything is fine with me'. 1929 A. C. & C. EDINGTON Studio Murder Myst. iii. 26 The irrevocable 'thumbs down' on a lovely female actor, because certain shady pages in her past had been turned to the light. 1939 War Illustr. 4 Nov. p. iii/1 French peasants now return the 'thumbs up' gesture with which they are greeted by British troops on their way to the front. 1946 Sunday Dispatch 8 Sept. 1/2 He ran from his machine giving the thumbs-up sign. 1951 Sport 7-13 Jan. 16/3 The London team has been given the thumbs down sign by a meeting of 1st division promoters. 1951 S. SPENDER World within World v. 275 Our chief comedian was Buckfast... Everything about him suggested a 'thumbs up' attitude. 1954 R. SUTCLIFF Eagle of Ninth iii. 27 He laughed, and made the 'thumbs up' to his troops, calling 'Well done, lads!' 1961 Guardian 25 Mar. 6/7 The Chancellor of the Exchequer's thumbs-down to a National Theatre. 1967 Technology Week XX. 95/2 Giving a final 'thumbs up' on the rocket's readiness. 1971 Sunday Times (Johannesburg) 28 Mar. 5/1 She said the thumbs-down vote was not unanimous. 1976 Scotsman 25 Nov. 3/7 The market yesterday gave Sir Hugh the thumbs-up. The Fraser shares went up 3p to 58p on the report, which was apparently better than expected. 1979 R. FIENNES Hell on Ice i. 14 Both drivers gave a 'thumbs up'. 1982 Daily Tel. 5 Mar. 17/1 (heading) Baldwin statue gets thumbs down from Foot.
i. to get one's thumb out of (a person's) mouth, to escape from, to get out of the clutches of. the finger next one's thumb, one's closest friend. So to be finger and thumb, to be on intimate terms. a thumb under the girdle: an expression denoting reserve or unsociableness. to a cow's thumb, exactly, perfectly, to a hair. there's my thumb (Sc.), in asseveration, in allusion to the practice of licking the thumb in sealing a bargain; see thumb-licking in 6. above one's thumb (Sc.), beyond one's reach or ability. to fash one's thumb (Sc.), to put oneself out, to worry or concern oneself. to clap, put, or keep the thumb on (Sc.), to keep secret. to whistle on one's thumb (Sc.): cf. to pipe in an ivy-leaf (see IVY-LEAF). as easy as kiss my thumb. to have a green thumb: see GREEN a. 1k. to stick out like a sore thumb: see SORE a. 9f. See also RULE OF THUMB.
1481 CAXTON Reynard xx. (Arb.) 49, I shal by my wille neuer more come in the kynges daunger, I haue now goten my thombe out of his mouth. 1579 LYLY Euphues (Arb.) 68 In yat thou crauest my aide, assure thy selfe I will be the finger next thy thombe. 1607 T. WALKINGTON Opt. Glass 130 Wee count a melancholicke man..the aqua-fortis of merry company, a thumb vnder the girdle. a1613 OVERBURY Charac., Old Man (1614) Eiijb, They call the thombe vnder the girdle grauitie. 1681 T. FLATMAN Heraclitus Ridens No. 40 (1713) II. 2 Let him alone, he'll trim their Whiskers and comb their Perukes for them to a Cow's thumb. 1722 RAMSAY Three Bonnets III. 104 There's my thumb That, while I breathe, I'se ne'er beguile ye. 1730-6 BAILEY (folio) s.v., They are Finger and Thumb, that is, they are so great together, there is no parting them. 1766 A. NICOL Poems 59 (E.D.D.) Your match is nane aboon your thumb. 1786 BURNS Earnest Cry & Prayer v, Speak out, an' never fash your thumb. 1818 SCOTT Hrt. Midl. xviii, We'll leave Mr. Sharpitlaw to whistle on his thumb. 1825 JAMIESON s.v., To Clap or Put the Thoum on any thing, to conceal it carefully,..keep it secret. 1838 W. BELL Dict. Law Scot., Licking of Thumbs, a symbolical mode of indicating that a bargain has been concluded. 1891 A. J. MUNBY Vulgar Verses 101, I lay it's as easy as kiss-my-thumb, For to have my way wi' her.
6. attrib. and Comb. a. Simple attrib., as thumb-bone, -breadth, -joint, -knuckle, -unction; b. in names of objects of comparatively diminutive size, as thumb-book, -brush, -wren; c. in names of mechanical devices operated by the thumb, or of parts on which the thumb presses in grasping, etc., as thumb-catch, -cock, -ferule, -hole, -latch, -lever, -milling, -nut, -reel, -sneck, -switch, -wheel; d. objective, instrumental, etc., as thumb-sucking, -twiddling (cf. TWIDDLE v.1 2c); thumb-like, -made, -stained, -worn adjs. e. Special combs.: thumb-ball, the ball of the thumb (BALL n.1 15); thumb bird, a local name for the Goldcrest; thumb-bit, thumb-blue, thumb-bolts n. pl.: see quots.; thumb-case, a thumb-stall; thumb-cleat Naut.: see quot.; thumb-finger, the thumb; thumb-fingered a., clumsy, not dexterous (cf. 5c); thumb-hand dial., the right hand; thumb-index, a reference-index consisting of grooves cut in the front edges of the leaves, or formerly of projecting tabs, or margins so cut as to show initial letters or titles, so that any division may be turned to by placing the thumb or finger on the proper initial, etc.; thumb-kissing, the kissing of the thumb with which the book is held instead of the book itself in taking an oath; thumb-knot = overhand knot: see OVERHAND a. 4; thumb-lancet, the usual form of lancet, having a broad two-edged blade; thumb-licking (Sc.), the licking and joining of thumbs by the parties concerned in token of the completion of a bargain; thumb-lock, (a) a kind of lock which is opened by pressing with the thumb; (b) pl. = THUMB-SCREW n. 2; thumb-loose [LOOSE n. 1] Archery, a method of releasing the bow-string with the thumb: cf. THUMB-RING c; thumb-measure: see quot. and cf. 4; thumb-mould, a small mould usually having designs in intaglio, into which the clay is pressed with the thumb in making ornaments for the decoration of ware (Cent. Dict., Suppl. 1909); thumb-pad, a pad covering the inner metacarpal bone in some batrachians (Cent. Dict., 1891); thumb paper U.S., a paper or card inserted in a book at the bottom of a page to protect it from thumb-marks; thumb piano Mus. = SANSA; thumb pick Mus., a kind of plectrum; thumb-pin = thumb-tack; thumb-piston = PISTON n. 2b; thumb position, in violoncello playing, a position in which the thumb serves as a movable 'nut'; thumb-pot, (a) a flower-pot of the smallest size; (b) see quot. 1885; thumb print, the impression or mark of the inner surface of the top joint of the thumb, made with ink or otherwise upon a receptive surface; also fig.; thumb-printing, the use of 'thumbs and fingers' (see FINGER n. 11b) in the aquatint process; thumb-read v., trans. to read cursorily; to turn the pages of (a book) with the thumb in glancing through it; thumb-register = thumb-index; thumb-rule = RULE OF THUMB; thumb-stick, a tall walking-stick with a forked thumb-rest at the top; thumb-sucker, (a) a child who habitually sucks his thumb; (b) Journalists' slang (see quots. 1974, 1980); thumb-tack, a tack with a broad head, which may be pushed in with the thumb; N. Amer. = drawing-pin s.v. DRAWING vbl. n. 6b; also as v. trans.; hence thumb-tacked ppl. a. See also THUMB-BAND, etc.
1821 Blackw. Mag. VIII. 430 Along his *thumb-ball, Will his pen-knife tries.
1885 SWAINSON Provinc. Names Birds 25 Goldcrest (Regulus cristatus)... Miller's thumb (Roxburgh). *Thumb bird (Hants).
1847-78 HALLIWELL, *Thumb-bit, a piece of meat eaten on bread, so called from the thumb being placed on it. [Cf. THUMB-PIECE b.]
1858 SIMMONDS Dict. Trade, *Thumb-blue, a name for small knobs of indigo used by washerwomen.
1711 C. LOCKYER Acc. Trade India iv. 95, I understand Congas [= cangue] to be *Thumbolts.
c1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxvi. (Baptista) 882 A-pon e autere scho saw ly As a *thoume-bane propirly.
1715 M. DAVIES Athen. Brit. I. 77 A little *Thumb-Book, or Pamphlet, call'd, 'The Office of the Virgin Mary'.
1846 BROWNING Let. 20 July, You can't write 'so many lines a day' any more than you can paint a picture by *thumb-breadths.
1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 39b/2 As touching the thumbe and the fingers, we must haue a *thumbcase.
1844 STEPHENS Bk. Farm I. 139, 2 shutters..to open on hinges, and fasten inside with a *thumb-catch.
1867 SMYTH Sailor's Word-bk., *Thumb-cleat, in shape resembling a thumb. 1886 R. C. LESLIE Sea-painter's Log vi. 137 Clumsy thumb-cleats, with more clothes-line twining about them.
1826 Sporting Mag. XVIII. 326 The cap and the *thumb-ferrel on the four-horse whips.
1855 J. DAVIES Races of Lanc. in Trans. Philol. Soc. 276 note, A word I have occasionally heard in my boyhood, though now obsolete, *thumb-finger. 1906 Westm. Gaz. 11 Aug. 16/1 The inner flight feathers grow first, leaving the thumb finger free until the feathers have grown long enough.
1903 Med. Rec. 28 Feb. 335 Iridectomy must be skilfully and delicately performed. No *thumb-fingered tyro need attempt it with hope of success.
1750 Student I. 332 The third house of your *thumb-hand in Blow-Bladder-Street. 1907 N. & Q. 10th Ser. VII. 467/1 This remarkable expression..heard in the neighbourhood of Sheffield..'Ye mun go down there, and keep to t' thomb-hand side'.
1859 GULLICK & TIMBS Paint. 199 The '*thumb-hole' is, however, of recent introduction, and replaced projecting handles. 1902 Daily Chron. 24 Jan. 5/1, I was worrying about that palette of yours. Couldn't you have the thumb-hole in it padded?
1903 Periodical July 16 The Oxford *Thumb-Index Bible is the latest novelty.
1853 CARLETON Traits, etc. Irish Peas. (1860) II. 5 *Thumb-kissing is another feature in Paddy's adroitness.
1795 HUTTON Math. Dict. s.v. Knot, A *Thumb knot..the simplest of all. It is used..by taylors &c. at the end of their thread.
1869 BLACKMORE Lorna D. ii, The Lord be with thee, Jan, and turn thy *thumb-knuckle inwards.
1903 Med. Rec. 30 May 853 At a time (1862) when the *thumb-lancet was hardly considered a necessity.
1761 Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1912) XLVIII. 96 Hinges, *thumb latches, hammers. 1801 NEMNICH Waaren Lexicon II. 686/2 Thumb latches, Thürklinken mit einem Drücker. 1844 STEPHENS Bk. Farm II. 167 The outer-door provided with a good thumb-latch, and lock and key. 1883 [see THUMB-PIECE a].
1773 ERSKINE Inst. Law Scot. III. iii. §5. 447 Decrees are yet extant in our records.. sustaining sales upon summonses of *thumb-licking, upon this medium, That the parties had licked thumbs at finishing the bargain.
1895 S. S. BUCKMAN in Pop. Sci. Monthly Jan. 376 The big toe..reveals its former *thumblike use.
1801 NEMNICH Waaren Lexicon II. 686/2 *Thumb locks, Feder-Thürschlösser die mit einem Schlüssel ohne Bart, aufgedrückt werden. 1882 J. TAYLOR Sc. Covenanters 88 They carried with them..iron fetters, and an instrument of torture called thumb-locks.
RULE OF THUMB
1. A method or procedure derived entirely from practice or experience, without any basis in scientific knowledge; a roughly practical method. Also, a particular stated rule that is based on practice or experience.
1692 SIR W. HOPE Fencing-Master 157 What he doth, he doth by rule of Thumb, and not by Art. 1721 KELLY Scot. Prov. 257 No Rule so good as Rule of Thumb, if it hit. 1785 GROSE Dict. Vulgar T., Thumb, by rule of thumb, to do a thing by dint of practice. 1802 Sporting Mag. XX. 17 Too often did she apportion the drugs by the rule of thumb. 1865 M. ARNOLD Ess. Crit. v. 159 The English..have in all their changes proceeded, to use a familiar expression, by the rule of thumb. 1887 BESANT World Went xxv, [He] knew nothing save by rule of thumb of navigation. 1906 [see drill book s.v. DRILL n.2 7b]. 1965 C. D. EBY Siege of Alcázar (1966) vii. 135 In doubtful cases a rule of thumb applied: if the prisoner employed one servant in his household or two workers in his business, then he was a Fascist. 1967 G. F. FIENNES I tried to run a Railway ii. 14 George Jackson who timed by rule of thumb faster and as accurately as any Grapher. 1976 Inorg. Chem. XV. 1032/2 The i.r. spectra..show no apparent deviation from the rule of thumb that vibrational spectra of mixed-valence compounds are approximate superpositions of the single-valence spectra. 1976 Southern Even. Echo (Southampton) 11 Nov. 3/7 The rule of thumb over the tenancy of a council home should be 'follow the children'. 1977 National Observer (U.S.) 1 Jan. 7/2 The usual rule of thumb in the real-estate business is that a family can afford a house 2 to 2 times its income. 1980 Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts Feb. 166/2 By day that same boy's master, and overlooker, and fellow-workmen, are all teaching him..that rule of thumb is the only safe guide.
transf. 1773 GOLDSM. Stoops to Conq. III, Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no fibs. I procured them by the rule of thumb.
2. attrib. a. Of methods, etc.: Based merely upon practice or experience. Also in predicative use.
1837 LOCKHART Scott (1839) VIII. 92 Beyond this rule of thumb calculation, no experience could bring him to penetrate his mystery. 1861 HUGHES Tom Brown at Oxf. xxi. (1889) 196 We never learnt anything..except a little rule-of-thumb mathematics. 1878 ABNEY Photogr. Pref., Though rapid advance has been made of late years in rule of thumb photography. 1935 E. WAUGH Edmund Campion ii. 55 Old-fashioned priests..came to him when they found their simple, rule-of-thumb dialectics insufficient to cope with their trained opponents. 1947 E. M. FORSTER in Harper's Mag. July 15/2 Virginia Woolf..believed in reading a book twice. The first time she abandoned herself to the author unreservedly. The second time she treated him with severity and allowed him to get away with nothing he could not justify. After these two readings she felt qualified to discuss the book. Here is good rule of thumb advice. 1962 W. NOWOTTNY Lang. Poets Use iii. 53 This attitude..however rule-of-thumb it may be, is reasonable enough. 1977 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 24 Nov. 16/1 Ridiculing the 'rule of thumb' methods used in the household.
b. Of persons: Working only by methods derived from practice.
1841 B. HALL Patchwork III. 83 Unlooked-for results often occur to distract the mere rule-of-thumb navigator. 1878 ABNEY Photogr. (1890) 10 A great difficulty to the beginner or to the rule-of-thumb photographer. 1947 [see NOMOGRAPHER].
Hence rule-of-thumbite, a person who works by rule of thumb (nonce-wd.).
1916 H. G. WELLS Mr. Britling I. i. 16 Ruskin and Morris..were as reactionary and anti-scientific as the dukes and the bishops. Machine haters. Science haters. Rule of Thumbites to the bone.