fat finger
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈfæt ˈfɪŋɡə/
ipa: /ˈfæt ˈfɪŋɡɚ/
rhymes: -ɪŋɡə(ɹ)
Forms: form: fat fingers
form: fat-finger
Etymology: From the idea that a finger that is too fat or large is likely to accidentally press one or more keys other than the intended one.
Senses: examples: text: The first subcategory is what I choose to call Fat Fingers Syndrome. This is a problem obviously caused by poor typing techniques which result in a single finger striking two keys instead of one. [...] The opposite of the fat finger problem is what I call simply the Missed Key(s). This can also result in the writing of real (but wrong) words, such as "rod" for rode or "trace" for trance.
ref: 2005, William Carroll, “Just Not Your Type?”, in The Untied Stats on American: And Other Computer Assisted Writing Errors, Lincoln, Neb.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 8:
text: The London Stock Exchange is to enhance the measures it has in place to ensure ‘fat finger’ trades do not occur.
ref: 2006 December 25, James Quinn, “LSE moves to nail ‘fat finger’ deals”, in John Bryant, editor, The Daily Telegraph, London: Telegraph Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC:
text: Although it appeared to be triggered by unrest in Greece, the real cause could be a trader's "fat fingers."
ref: 2010 May 6, “‘Fat fingers’ could be behind market crash”, in CTV News, Vancouver, B.C.:
text: The Securities and Exchange Commission is on the case, pursuing a lead that a "fat finger" keystroke error on a trade in Procter & Gamble, one of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, turned a trade of millions into a trade of billions.
ref: 2010 May 7, “Fear itself the problem as Greece’s woes have yet to spread”, in The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, N.S.W.: Nine Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC:
text: A typical operational risk that needs to be countered is the ‘fat finger’ where, in stressful and fast-moving markets, a trader might key in a wrong order. There are numerous examples where such an order moved the market and generated a loss for the executing firm. A fat finger limit will prevent a portfolio manager keying in a trade with a size beyond a particular trigger level.
ref: 2011, Jan De Spiegeleer, Wim Schoutens, “Measuring the Risk”, in The Handbook of Convertible Bonds: Pricing, Strategies and Risk Management, part III (Risk Management and Strategies), Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, Operational Risk (section 9.3.9), page 250:
text: Maximum quantity limits help prevent human and algorithmic "fat finger" errors by enforcing the maximum order sizes and trading positions.
ref: 2013, Irene Aldridge, “Regulation”, in High-frequency Trading: A Practical Guide to Algorithmic Strategies and Trading Systems (Wiley Trading Series), 2nd edition, Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 217:
text: Someone with fat fingers pressed a wrong number is my guess. I suppose I'd better give them a ring and fess up.
ref: 2014, Lucy Diamond [pseudonym; Sue Mongredien], One Night in Italy, London: Pan Books, published 2016, →ISBN, page 419:
text: Still, due to fat fingers, user-interface elements need to be large enough and spaced far apart enough so that users' fingers can find their way around the interface comfortably.
ref: 2014, Jesse Feiler, “What Makes a Great iOS App”, in iOS App Development for Dummies (For Dummies), Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, part 1 (Getting Started), page 22:
text: I must have dialed the wrong number. Fat fingers and all that.
ref: 2015 May, Alex Archer, chapter 6, in Day of Atonement (Rogue Angel; a Gold Eagle Book), Don Mills, Ont.: Worldwide Library, →ISBN, page 45:
glosses: A supposed cause of typographical errors, especially keyboard errors, caused from erroneous key presses or typing errors on touchscreen devices.
Derived terms: fat-fingered