thumbs down

thumbs down

A sign or indication of disapproval. The phrase can refer to the actual gesture, which carries the same meaning, or can be used figuratively. I know the committee approved our idea, but the CEO ultimately gave it the thumbs down. Getting a thumbs down to yet another college application has really disheartened me.
See also: down, thumb
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

thumbs down

 
1. a sign of disapproval. The board gave our proposal a thumbs down. The administration's tax bill got a thumbs down in Congress.
2. disapproving; negative. It was thumbs down, and I was disappointed. The thumbs-down decision was a victory for good sense.
See also: down, thumb
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

(give somebody/something/get) the thumbs ˈup/ˈdown

used to show that something has been accepted/rejected or that it is/is not a success: I asked him whether I could borrow the car, and he gave me the thumbs up. I’m afraid it’s thumbs down for your new proposal — the boss doesn’t like it. We’ve got the thumbs up for the new swimming pool.In contests in ancient Rome the public put their thumbs up if they wanted a gladiator to live, and down if they wanted him to be killed.
See also: down, thumb, up
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

thumbs down

1. n. a sign of disapproval. (see also turn thumbs down (on someone/something).) The board gave our proposal a thumbs down.
2. mod. disapproving; negative. It was thumbs down, and I was disappointed.
See also: down, thumb
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • the thumbs up/down
  • give (something) the thumbs down
  • give something the thumbs down
  • give something the thumbs up
  • give (something) the thumbs up
  • kiss and make up
  • hold the stage
  • in reach
  • die from (something)
  • be (flat) on (one's) back
References in periodicals archive
Take a medicine ball (2 or 3 kg.) and hold it with the elbows up and thumbs down. Instruct the athlete to throw the ball to a partner with the inside-out motion.
Drill progression for the speed glide in shot putting. (Track & Field)
A Los Angeles Times exit poll found that whites (70-30 percent), Latinos (77-23 percent) and Asian-Americans (66-34 percent) also turned thumbs down on California's Prop.
Voters And Vouchers: The People Speak
The special report "ABA Gives Thumbs Down to Lawyers' Fee-Sharing," (JofA, Sept.00, page 22) purports to be a news item, but in my opinion the editorial intent of the article cannot be mistaken.
Letters
Notwithstanding thumbs down from city officials, around 150 supporters showed up high atop the M[ddot{u}]nster Platform to voice their views on Switzerland's drug laws.
MMM DEMONSTRATION
ORO Y PLATA, "gold and silver" is on the state flag of Montana, "The Treasure State." But Montana voters last November turned thumbs down on cyanide-process open-pit mining in the state, and the 1999 state legislature declined to call another popular ballot vote on the issue.
SEVEN-UP PETE DEAD
The Ministers have given the thumbs down to this procedural claim, with Tarja Halonen, the chair of the General Affairs Council explaining, in a letter to the Parliament's Presidency, that the Council believes that when the outgoing European Parliament's mandate ends, the European Parliament continues to be required to study the Council requests for consultation and there are therefore no grounds for tabling new proposals.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT/COUNCIL PROCEDURAL TRIAL OF STRENGTH
Consumers have learned to judge various products and services by grades of "A" through "F," "thumbs up" or "thumbs down," scales of 1 to 10 and "1-star" to "5-star" rating systems.
Get ready for industry scorecards
Berger and Baez, in strongly worded separate comments last week, turned thumbs down on suggestions by board members Irving Berkowitz and Eugene Kaufman that a move toward hiring an outside firm to run Co-op City be delayed until residents vote on the idea in a referendum.
Co-op City's management decision expected in Sept
Many plum offers are getting the thumbs down, and not just because of compensation.
Reverse selection: more job seekers are interviewing the employer in order to ensure a better fit
Given Wall Street's two thumbs down, we should not be throwing good money after bad with any more nuclear investment."
Power struggle: will utility deregulation finally unplug 'dirty' electricity?
Among those catholics who turn their noses up, or their thumbs down, at the changes made in the life of the church by the Second Vatican Council, there is a prevailing feeling that a sense of awe, especially in the Mass, has been lost.
The awe-filled truth about the Mass
The results gave current communication techniques a "thumbs down." Business managers rated their own internal communication effectiveness 5.6 on a scale of 10.
Market for employee buy-in
And if an employee does seek legal redress after his peers turn thumbs down, his chances of prevailing are slim.
Peer review may keep you out of court
At the same meeting, chemist Linus Pauling of Palo Alto, Calif., alvo voted thumbs down on cold fusion.
Dif-fusion: beware the ideas of March
Summary: Canberra [Australia], October 25 (ANI): Australian skipper Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner have given a thumbs down to the new concept of four-day Test match format and wished to retain the current structure of the longest format of the game.
Smith, Warner not in favour of four-day Test format