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twiddle thumbs
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 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
To do little or nothing; be idle.