'All Thumbs'
2023-07-02
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1And now, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English.
2On this show we explore words and expressions a little more deeply.
3We give you synonyms - words that mean close to the same thing. And we use the expressions in a conversation.
4Today we talk about our hands - more specifically our thumbs.
5Most of us have one thumb and four fingers on each hand.
6Our thumbs let us perform certain tasks.
7But what if all our fingers were replaced with thumbs?
8Those tasks we normally perform with ease would become much more difficult.
9In fact, we would lose the ability to do many things with our hands.
10Our movements would become careless and clumsy.
11We would drop things all the time.
12And that is what the saying to be all thumbs means.
13If I am all thumbs, I lack grace with my hands.
14I am klutzy.
15So, people might call me a klutz.
16They might also call me butterfingers.
17Imagine your fingers are coated in butter.
18They would be very slippery. And it would hard to pick things up.
19Now, let's hear the expression "to be all thumbs" in a conversation between two friends.
20A: Hey, I'm planning a surprise party for Nicholas.
21I'm bringing the food and ice.
22And Cassidy is bringing the drinks - about 50 bottles of wine and lemonade. Can you bring the cake?
23B: I have a better idea.
24I'll pick up the drinks.
25Why don't you ask Cassidy to bring the cake?
26A: Why?
27B: Cassidy is all thumbs.
28She'll end up dropping everything and then we won't have drinks at the party.
29A: Good call.
30She is pretty clumsy.
31Actually, at the last party she dropped the cake.
32On second thought ... I'll have her bring the ice.
1And now, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English. 2On 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. 3Today we talk about our hands - more specifically our thumbs. 4Most 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. 5In 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. 6And 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. 7They 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. 8Now, let's hear the expression "to be all thumbs" in a conversation between two friends. 9A: Hey, I'm planning a surprise party for Nicholas. I'm bringing the food and ice. And Cassidy is bringing the drinks - about 50 bottles of wine and lemonade. Can you bring the cake? 10B: I have a better idea. I'll pick up the drinks. Why don't you ask Cassidy to bring the cake? 11A: Why? 12B: Cassidy is all thumbs. She'll end up dropping everything and then we won't have drinks at the party. 13A: Good call. She is pretty clumsy. Actually, at the last party she dropped the cake. On second thought ... I'll have her bring the ice. If she drops the bags of ice, it'll only help break it up. 14B: Very smart. 15And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo. 16Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. 17__________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19clumsy - adj. lacking skill or grace in movement 20klutzy - adj. to be careless in movement : klutz - n. a clumsy person 21slippery - adj. causing or tending to cause something to slide or fall 22We want to hear from you. Do you have a similar expression in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. 23We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 24Write your comment in the box. 25Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. 26Click on one image and a box appears. 27Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with "D" on it. It is free. 28Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.