Thumb twiddling - wikipedia Thumb twiddling Look up twiddle one 's thumbs in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Thumb twiddling is an activity that is done with the hands of an individual whereby the fingers are interlocked and the thumbs circle around a common focal point, usually in the middle of the distance between the two thumbs. While it is an expression of at least a moderate amount of manual dexterity, thumb twiddling is frequently used as an example of a useless, time - wasting activity. It has even been proposed as `` the ultimate exercise for the bored and lazy ''. Contents 1 Reasons 2 Medical uses 3 See also 4 References Reasons Thumb twiddling is considered to be the same useless actives such as opening and closing doors and checking to see if a lock is bolted tight. It 's reported that thumb twiddling is common in individuals with obsessive -- compulsive disorder ( OCD ). For some individuals, thumb twiddling is a result in being anxious or nervous, having anxiety, or simply doing it out of habit. Medical uses Thumb twiddling can be used as a simple test for manual dexterity. See also Thumb wrestling References Jump up ^ Hayes, Justin Cord. 747 Things to Do on a Plane : From Lift - off to Landing, All You Need to Make Your Travels Fly By. F + W Publications, Inc., 2008. Jump up ^ `` The fine art of Thumb Twiddling ''. Soph Laugh, 2011 - 2016. Jump up ^ O'Sullivan, Joanne. I Do n't Care If We 're There Yet : The Backseat Boredom Buster. Sterling Publishing Co Inc, 2008, p. 19. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thumb_twiddling&oldid=832904270 '' Categories : Hand games Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 28 March 2018, at 16 : 28. About Wikipedia

Question: what does it mean when you roll your thumbs
Answer: an example of a useless, time-wasting activity