Hello, here’s another idiom in English: to be all thumbs.
To be all thumbs. This is a thumb. Finger, finger, finger, finger, thumb. You have two thumbs on your hands.
To be all thumbs means the same thing as clumsy, not graceful, okay?
“I’m all thumbs! I can’t do it very well.” Something physical that I can’t do, especially with my hands.
“I’m all thumbs. I’m very clumsy. I’m not good at doing that with my hands. I’m all thumbs: I can’t do it well.”
For example, maybe something like… Oh, I don’t know. Fixing your bicycle. I want to fix my bicycle but I’m all thumbs; I’m not good at doing that. I can’t do it well. I’m all thumbs.
Because if you had all thumbs; if you had five thumbs instead of four fingers and one thumb, then it wouldn’t work very well, right?
Sometimes with an idiom you can think about the literal meaning and then it can help you understand the idiomatic meaning. This one, it will help you. All thumbs, if they were all thumbs, you would not be able to do things very well with your hands.
Not all idioms are like this. Sometimes the other meaning will help understand the idiom, but sometimes not. Sometimes you just have to remember. This one, it does help.
All thumbs: very clumsy. Can’t do it well with your hands.
Okay? Have a good day, bye-bye.
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