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finger
fin·ger / ˈfinggər/ • n. each of the four slender jointed parts attached to either hand (or five, if the thumb is included). ∎ a part of a glove intended to cover a finger. ∎ a measure of liquor in a glass, based on the breadth of a finger: he poured three fingers of vodka into a juice glass. ∎ an object that has roughly the long, narrow shape of a finger: a shortbread finger. • v. [tr.] 1. touch or feel (something) with the fingers: the thin man fingered his mustache. ∎ play (a musical instrument) with the fingers, esp. in a tentative or casual manner: the woman fingered her lute. 2. inf. inform on (someone) to the police: you fingered me for those burglaries. PHRASES: be all fingers and thumbs inf. be clumsy or awkward in one's actions. have a finger in every pie be involved in a large and varied number of activities or enterprises. have (or keep) one's finger on the pulse be aware of all the latest news or developments: he keeps his finger on the pulse of world music. lay a finger on someone touch someone, esp. with the intention of harming them. put one's finger on something identify something exactly: he cannot put his finger on what has gone wrong.DERIVATIVES: fin·gered adj. [in comb.] a two-fingered whistle |
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Cite this article
"finger." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "finger." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-finger.html "finger." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-finger.html |
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finger
finger all fingers and thumbs clumsy or awkward in handling something, lack all manual dexterity. An obsolete earlier (mid 16th-century) variant is, each finger is a thumb; in the 19th century, the expression all thumbs was used.
a finger in every pie involved in a large and varied number of activities or enterprises; the expression in this form is recorded from the late 19th century, but the image of a finger (earlier hand) in a pie indicating involvement dates back to the mid 16th century. fingers were made before forks commonly used as a polite excuse for eating with one's hands at table. The saying is recorded from the mid 18th century, but an earlier variant ‘God made hands before knives’ is found in the mid 16th century. see also cross one's fingers at cross3, five-finger exercise, green fingers. |
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Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "finger." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "finger." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-finger.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "finger." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-finger.html |
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Finger
Finger Originally a program used by a SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR which displayed the identities of all the users who were logged in to a network. It was based on the Finger program used in UNIX. However, the term has been extended to describe any utility which looks up user details such as their name, given an email address. The information provided by a Finger utility is usually taken from the member details held by an INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER. There are a large number of Web-based interfaces to Finger systems.
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DARREL INCE. "Finger." A Dictionary of the Internet. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DARREL INCE. "Finger." A Dictionary of the Internet. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O12-Finger.html DARREL INCE. "Finger." A Dictionary of the Internet. 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O12-Finger.html |
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finger
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T. F. HOAD. "finger." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "finger." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-finger.html T. F. HOAD. "finger." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-finger.html |
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finger
finger Informal A utility program designed to find publicly available information about a named user or service.
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JOHN DAINTITH. "finger." A Dictionary of Computing. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN DAINTITH. "finger." A Dictionary of Computing. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O11-finger.html JOHN DAINTITH. "finger." A Dictionary of Computing. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O11-finger.html |
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finger
finger
•blagger, bragger, dagger, flagger, Jagger, lagger, nagger, quagga, saggar, shagger, stagger, swagger
•alga, realgar, Trafalgar
•anger, clangour (US clangor), Katanga, languor, manga, panga, sangar, tanga, Tauranga, Zamboanga
•sandbagger • carpetbagger • Erlanger
•Aga, Braga, dagga, dargah, laager, lager, naga, Onondaga, raga, saga
•beggar, eggar, Gregor, mega, Megger
•Edgar • Helga • Heidegger
•bootlegger
•Jaeger, maigre, Meleager, Noriega, Ortega, rutabaga, Sagar
•Antigua, beleaguer, bodega, eager, intriguer, leaguer, meagre (US meager), reneger, Riga, Seeger, Vega
•chigger, configure, digger, figure, Frigga, jigger, ligger, rigger, rigor, rigour, snigger, swigger, transfigure, trigger, vigour (US vigor)
•churinga, finger, linger, malinger
•gravedigger • ladyfinger • forefinger
•omega • vinegar • Honegger
•outrigger • Minnesinger
•Auriga, Eiger, liger, saiga, taiga, tiger
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Cite this article
"finger." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "finger." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-finger.html "finger." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-finger.html |
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