brown thumb

brown thumb

The inability or lack of skill in gardening or growing plants, such that they end up dying or fail to grow at all. Derived from "green thumb," meaning the opposite. I'd love a flowerbed in the back yard, but I have such a brown thumb that the flowers would all die within a week.
See also: brown, thumb
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • have a green thumb
  • green thumb
  • rule of thumb
  • a rule of thumb
  • a skosh
  • bite (one's) thumb at
  • (just) for the devil of it
  • for the devil of it
  • smithereen
  • blow, smash, etc. something to smithereens
References in periodicals archive
Don't worry if you have a brown thumb. Indoor plants for air purification are easy to grow.
"Realize that no one is born with a green thumb or a brown thumb. Gardening can be learned.''
Brown thumb? Need help from someone who's seen it all?
There are more exotic and colorful plants than those that made this list, but from the standpoint of durability, low maintenance and appeal, I think these plants will fit the bill even for homeowners with a brown thumb.
Ditto for the Brown thumb safety that was, as Mark said, "Cleaned up and shaped, then fit to this particular pistol." A Cylinder & Slide trigger group and short Videki trigger goes together neatly and arrives at the 4.5-pound mark by Mark.
Cursed with a brown thumb? Gardening expert and MOTHER EARTH NEWS contributing editor Barbara Pleasant has come to your rescue with her latest book: The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual: Essential Know-how for Keeping (Not Killing!) More Than 160 Indoor Plants (Storey Publishing, 2005).
As he told Young at one point: "Toby, you have a brown thumb. It's the opposite of a green thumb.
"We're proudest of our tomatoes that are grown year round, our lettuce and our corn," said Durst, adding that while he considers himself to have "a black or brown thumb," his wife has a "green thumb."
I've always joked I have a brown thumb. For the past couple of springs, it's been a bit muddy.
The grip safety pivots on an Ed Brown thumb safety that was trimmed, de-horned, and cut to match the pistol's curves.
makes it tops for anyone with a brown thumb who wants to start an herb
Here are five tips to turn your brown thumb green, and your yard into a colorful refuge.
S&A provides the grip safety, which is bracketed by an Ed Brown thumb safety and mainspring housing.
Even for those self-proclaimed brown thumbs in Mississippi, the one evergreen that everyone could probably identify is the Southern Magnolia, also known as the Evergreen Magnolia.