Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pull one's finger out

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.05 in modern English

Syllables: pul-l one's fin-ger out
IPA

23

Scrabble Score

17

Letters

3

Syllables

12

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To stop wasting time in preliminaries, and concentrate on the important task.

Slang

Example Sentences

"You've been sitting there all week. It's time you sorted yourself out and pulled your finger out!"
"Speaking at Mayor's Question Time on February 24, Sheikh said: "It's time for the Government to pull its finger out and give TfL the funding package it needs in the wake of the pandemic."

Etymology

Ellipsis of pull one's finger out of one's arse, probably from the notion that one should not sit on one's hands.

Usage

Slang

Inflected Forms

pulls one's finger out (present, singular) pulling one's finger out (participle, present) pulled one's finger out (participle, past) pulled one's finger out (past)

Synonyms

pull finger

Questions

What does pull one's finger out mean?: To stop wasting time in preliminaries, and concentrate on the important task.
Where does pull one's finger out come from?: Ellipsis of pull one's finger out of one's arse, probably from the notion that one should not sit on one's hands.

How to pronounce pull one's finger out

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