all thumbs

Related to all thumbs: so much for, stood out like a sore thumb

all thumbs

Uncoordinated or clumsy with one's hands. My mother does beautiful calligraphy, but I'm all thumbs—I can barely hold the pen!
See also: all, thumb
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

all thumbs

Fig. very awkward and clumsy, especially with one's hands. Poor Bob can't play the piano at all. He's all thumbs. Mary is all thumbs when it comes to gardening.
See also: all, thumb
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

all thumbs

Physically awkward, especially with respect to the hands, as in When it comes to knitting, Mary is all thumbs. The notion of this idiom derives from a proverb in John Heywood's collection of 1546: "When he should get aught, each finger is a thumb."
See also: all, thumb
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

all thumbs

BRITISH, AMERICAN or

all fingers and thumbs

BRITISH
If you are all thumbs or all fingers and thumbs, you do something in a very clumsy way. Can you open this? I'm all thumbs. When I came to give the baby a bath, I was all fingers and thumbs.
See also: all, thumb
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

all thumbs

Lacking physical coordination, skill, or grace; clumsy.
See also: all, thumb
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
See also:
  • all thumbs, to be
  • be all thumbs
  • ham-fisted
  • be all fingers and thumbs
  • roller
  • (as) awkward as a cow on roller skates
  • (as) awkward as a cow on a crutch
  • awkward
  • crutch