Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive, informal To make errors in typing on a
keyboard orkeypad by accidentally striking more than one key simultaneously with one finger.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Computerized trading has given rise to a genre of errors on Wall Street known as fat-finger slip-ups, because pressing a wrong key can mean a difference of millions or billions in trades.
Technology Can't Save Us From Math Mishaps Carl Bialik 2011
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It's called "fat-finger dialing" and it's a fairly common phone scam.
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This looks also like a good option for small touch-screen devices, since the user interface has only a few yet fat-finger friendly controls. marjancek
YouTube XL Brings YouTube To Your TV | Lifehacker Australia 2009
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A problem I've seen in IBM Thinkpads is the NumLock going on all by itself, often on startup (and no, it's not a fat-finger error.)
NumLocker Disables The Caps Lock Key | Lifehacker Australia 2009
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People in the telecommunications industry who are familiar with PrimeTel say that in addition to snapping up familiar 1-800 numbers, the company may be trying to capitalize on people's fat-finger dialing mistakes by acquiring numbers that are just a digit or two away from a major company's number.
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This isn't the first time a fat-finger move has caused agita for stock traders.
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A precipitous, 1,000-point tumble in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, translating to the elimination of nearly $1 trillion of market value in about 20 minutes during yesterday's trading day, has been blamed in part on a yet-to-be-identified fat-finger mistake.
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It likely IS a glitch, more likely a fat-finger human error on the futures market, and the press is so wildly off the mark as to be humorous.
Skynet Rules Steve Perry 2010
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One rumor alleges what traders call the "fat-finger discount," where someone typed billion instead of million into a sell order.
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These include a "fat-finger" erroneous trade that started it all; hacking or terrorist activity; unusual trading in shares of Proctor & Gamble, a component of the Dow Jones industrial average; and futures trades linked to the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index.
Last week's market dive largely caused by major Wall St. firms, SEC chief says 2010
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