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Usenet Posted 21 years ago
Usage
Is the thumb a finger ?
I'm a non-native user of English and I've
just been asked by some friends to settle
an argument. It seems one group says that
the thumb is a finger and the other group
insists that it isn't. It got to the point
where they're making bets and they called
me on the phone to settle it.
My understanding is that, scientifically
speaking, the thumb is indisputably a finger,
but conventional usage sometimes sets it
apart, meaning in effect that it's not a
finger.
If this is correct, and leaving scientific
definitions aside, is it more usual to
count the thumb as one of the fingers or not ?
In my own language, we simply call the thumb
the big finger or the great/grand finger.
If one of you native users of English were
asked to settle the argument, which party
would you favour ?
I'll appreciate some quick answers. And
please remember that a considerable sum
of money is riding on this :-)
just been asked by some friends to settle
an argument. It seems one group says that
the thumb is a finger and the other group
insists that it isn't. It got to the point
where they're making bets and they called
me on the phone to settle it.
My understanding is that, scientifically
speaking, the thumb is indisputably a finger,
but conventional usage sometimes sets it
apart, meaning in effect that it's not a
finger.
If this is correct, and leaving scientific
definitions aside, is it more usual to
count the thumb as one of the fingers or not ?
In my own language, we simply call the thumb
the big finger or the great/grand finger.
If one of you native users of English were
asked to settle the argument, which party
would you favour ?
I'll appreciate some quick answers. And
please remember that a considerable sum
of money is riding on this :-)
Top answer
[nq:1]I'm a non-native user of English and I've just been asked by some friends to settle an argument. It seems ... I'll appreciate some quick answers.
- [nq:1]I'm a non-native user of English and I've just been asked by some friends to settle an argument.
- It seems ...
- I'll appreciate some quick answers.
- And please remember that a considerable sum of money is riding on this :-)[/nq] Idiomatically it's spoken of as a finger (as well as being distinguished as a thumb).
- If someone says "I can count the number of times I've heard that on the fingers of one hand", he means "up to or including five", not "up to or including four".
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36 Answers
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[nq:1]I'm a non-native user of English and I've just been asked by some friends to settle an argument. It seems ... ? I'll appreciate some quick answers. And please remember that a considerable sum of money is riding on this :-)[/nq]
Idiomatically it's spoken of as a finger (as well as being distinguished as a thumb).
If someone says "I can count the number of times I've heard that on the
Idiomatically it's spoken of as a finger (as well as being distinguished as a thumb).
If someone says "I can count the number of times I've heard that on the
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[nq:1]On 16 Oct 2005, wrote[/nq]
[nq:2]I'm a non-native user of English and I've just been ... a considerable sum of money is riding on this :-)[/nq]
[nq:1]Idiomatically it's spoken of as a finger (as well as being distinguished as a thumb). If someone says "I can ... that on the fingers of one hand", he means "up to or including five", not "up to or including four".[/nq]
I agree. Howe
[nq:2]I'm a non-native user of English and I've just been ... a considerable sum of money is riding on this :-)[/nq]
[nq:1]Idiomatically it's spoken of as a finger (as well as being distinguished as a thumb). If someone says "I can ... that on the fingers of one hand", he means "up to or including five", not "up to or including four".[/nq]
I agree. Howe
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[nq:1]I agree. However, I was curious about one question concerning fingers and did some Google searches. Cartoon characters are often ... sometimes as having "four fingers": "three fingers and a thumb" is rarely used. Here's one interesting use of the latter:[/nq]
They do that because drawing five fingers looks creepy.
They do that because drawing five fingers looks creepy.
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[nq:1]I'm a non-native user of English and I've just been asked by some friends to settle an argument. It seems ... isn't. It got to the point where they're making bets and they called me on the phone to settle it.[/nq]
In the UK the NHS counts the thumb as a finger. If you go into A & E with an injury to a little finger it will be recorded as an injury to Finger No.5
Mike
M.J.Pow
In the UK the NHS counts the thumb as a finger. If you go into A & E with an injury to a little finger it will be recorded as an injury to Finger No.5
Mike
M.J.Pow
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[nq:1]They do that because drawing five fingers looks creepy.[/nq]
All cartoons are drawn out of proportion. This is so they look in proportion. The reason is the same as the one for which the symbols for yin and yang are drawn with the black symbol slightly smaller than the white one.
All cartoons are drawn out of proportion. This is so they look in proportion. The reason is the same as the one for which the symbols for yin and yang are drawn with the black symbol slightly smaller than the white one.
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[nq:2]On 16 Oct 2005, wrote[/nq]
[nq:2]Idiomatically it's spoken of as a finger (as well as ... to or including five", not "up to or including four".[/nq]
[nq:1]I agree. However, I was curious about one question concerning fingers and did some Google searches. Cartoon characters are often ... work, with humans possessing only four fingers on each hand (or for the anally retentive, three fi
[nq:2]Idiomatically it's spoken of as a finger (as well as ... to or including five", not "up to or including four".[/nq]
[nq:1]I agree. However, I was curious about one question concerning fingers and did some Google searches. Cartoon characters are often ... work, with humans possessing only four fingers on each hand (or for the anally retentive, three fi
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[nq:2]I'm a non-native user of English and I've just been ... and they called me on the phone to settle it.[/nq]
[nq:1]In the UK the NHS counts the thumb as a finger. If you go into A & E with an injury to a little finger it will be recorded as an injury to Finger No.5 Mike M.J.Powell[/nq]
When Americans count with their fingers they start with the index representing 1, middle finger as 2,
[nq:1]In the UK the NHS counts the thumb as a finger. If you go into A & E with an injury to a little finger it will be recorded as an injury to Finger No.5 Mike M.J.Powell[/nq]
When Americans count with their fingers they start with the index representing 1, middle finger as 2,
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[nq:1]On *The Simpsons,* another program by Groening, *** is often, but not always, represented as having four fingers and a ... "five fingers," depending upon the usage preferred by the author of the Web page and which representation he is describing.[/nq]
Bob Terwilliger, AKA "Sideshow Bob", had his knuckles tattooed in prison: "LUV" and "HAT". Being Bob, he had a macron tattooed over the "A
Bob Terwilliger, AKA "Sideshow Bob", had his knuckles tattooed in prison: "LUV" and "HAT". Being Bob, he had a macron tattooed over the "A
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[nq:1]When Americans count with their fingers they start with the index representing 1, middle finger as 2, ring finger as ... from your post that the NHS counts the little finger as 5, but is that true of the British public?[/nq]
I can't speak for anyone else.
When counting with my fingers I'll use my right forefinger (index finger) to touch in turn the fingers of my left hand, from left
I can't speak for anyone else.
When counting with my fingers I'll use my right forefinger (index finger) to touch in turn the fingers of my left hand, from left
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