twiddle thumbs

Examples (10)

• I sat there twiddling my thumbs until the manager finally appeared.
• Instead of twiddling your thumbs, why don't you help with the preparations?
• The employees were twiddling their thumbs because there was no work to do.
• We spent the entire afternoon just twiddling our thumbs, waiting for the rain to stop.
• He hates just twiddling his thumbs; he always needs to be busy.
• Don't expect me to sit here twiddling my thumbs while you make all the decisions.
• After finishing her tasks, she found herself twiddling her thumbs for the rest of the hour.
• The children were twiddling their thumbs during the long car ride, bored out of their minds.
• Many businesses are twiddling their thumbs as they await the government's new policy.
• She tried to avoid twiddling her thumbs by reading a book, but the wait was still tedious.