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twiddle
twiddle one's thumbs
Fig. to pass the time by twirling one's thumbs. What am I supposed to do while waiting for you? Sit here and twiddle my thumbs? Don't sit around twiddling your thumbs. Get busy!
twiddle with something
to play with something; to play with something, using one's fingers; to fiddle with something. I asked Jason to stop twiddling with the pencils. Someone is twiddling with the stereo controls.
twiddle your thumbs
to do nothing Dan spent a whole day twiddling his thumbs, waiting for a package to be delivered.
twiddle your thumbs
to have nothing useful to do while you are waiting for something to happen Until I get the go-ahead, I'm just sitting around twiddling my thumbs.
twiddle one's thumbs
Be bored or idle, as in There I sat for three hours, twiddling my thumbs, while he made call after call. This expression alludes to the habit of idly turning one's thumbs about one another during a period of inactivity. [Mid-1800s]
twiddle one’s thumbs
tv. to do nothing; to wait nervously, playing with one’s fingers. I sat twiddling my thumbs while you were out doing I don’t know what all!
twiddle (one's) thumbs
To do little or nothing; be idle.