Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The nail of the thumb.
- noun Hence, figuratively, something as small as the nail of the thumb; something quite small, as a sketch or a volume.
- As small as the nail of the thumb; hence, quite small: as, a thumb-nail sketch; a thumb-nail series of books.
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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When he discovered a blood-blister under a thumb-nail, which he had received the previous week, his self-identification became doubly sure, and he knew that those unfamiliar hands belonged to Marcus
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Reich snapped his thumb-nail against the copper cube as though he were trying to flip a penny to the moon.
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In particular, Cheles cites the "OK" sign made by Petrarch: "If the first finger touches the middle of the right-hand edge of the thumb-nail with its extremity, the other fingers being relaxed, we shall have a graceful gesture well suited to express approval or to accompany statements of facts, and to mark the distinction between our different points."
Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro 2008
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On compact cameras, sensors are tiny, typically thumb-nail size or smaller.
hughstimson.org » Blog Archive » On the Sad State of the Modern Compact Camera 2008
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On their site, one can go from thumb-nail shot to thumb-nail shot in order to remember the destruction this one quake caused.
Today Italy suffered an earthquake where 91 died...What say you, Gov. Bobby Jindal? 2009
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Because last I checked, I could–with much greater difficulty–open my Swiss Army boy scout knife the same way, by use of the thumb-nail notch cut into the blade.
The Volokh Conspiracy » Obama administration moves to ban 80% of folding knives: 2009
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He remained in thought for a moment, mechanically passing the tip of his fore-finger across his thumb-nail, then he lifted up his voice:
Les Miserables 2008
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“You have my full permission, my dear Cuirassier, but you will not gain this much,” and the young Maitre des Requetes put his polished thumb-nail under an upper tooth with a little mocking click.
Domestic Peace 2007
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“You have my full permission, my dear Cuirassier, but you will not gain this much,” and the young Maitre des Requetes put his polished thumb-nail under an upper tooth with a little mocking click.
Domestic Peace 2007
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The entity known as Harriet Klausner is merely a regurgitation device that spews positive thumb-nail sketches across the land in aid of publishers and book-sellers.
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