thumb

1. (transitive)To touch or cover with the thumb.

   to thumb the touch-hole of a cannon

   мусо́литьmusólitʹ

2. (transitive)To turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily.

   thumb through

   I thumbed through the book and decided not to bother reading it all.

   durchblättern

   листа́тьlistátʹ, проли́стыватьprolístyvatʹ, перели́стыватьperelístyvatʹ

3. To gesture with the thumb, for example when flagging a ride.

4. To hitchhike.

   So I started thumbin' back east, toward my hometown.

5. To soil or wear with the thumb or the fingers; to soil, or wear out, by frequent handling.

6. To manipulate (an object) with the thumb; especially, to pull back the hammer or open the cylinder of a revolver.

7. To fire (a single action revolver) quickly by pulling the hammer while keeping the trigger depressed.

1. Tom gave Mary two thumbs up.

   Том показав Мері два великих пальці вгору. — deniko

   ruТом показал Мэри два больших пальца вверх. — sharptoothed

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2. He seems to be all thumbs.

   ruТакое ощущение, что у него руки не из того места растут. — marafon

   deEr scheint zwei linke Hände zu haben. — Manfredo

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3. He has her under his thumb.

   ruОн держит её на коротком поводке. — paul_lingvo

   deSie steht unter seinem Pantoffel. — Vortarulo

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4. She has him under her thumb.

   ruОн у неё под каблуком. — marafon

   deEr steht unter ihrem Pantoffel. — Pfirsichbaeumchen

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5. Tom gave Mary a thumbs-up.

   ruТом показал Мэри большой палец вверх. — marafon

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regular · Lesson

• thumb downTo get (a passing vehicle) to stop and give one a ride, signalling to the driver by holding out one's thumb (as a hitchhiker).
• thumb throughTo use one's thumb to quickly flip through the pages of a book, magazine, etc., especially without reading them thoroughly or at all.