Don’t Lift a Finger

Don't Lift a Finger

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Meaning:

To not lift a finger means to do nothing; to refuse to do something to help; to fail to make even a small effort; to refuse to perform some action or to exert oneself.

“pfhh, I’m not lifting a finger.”

Origin:

This phrase is always used as a negative, a refusal of help. We would say, ‘she would not lift a finger to help.’ Undoubtedly, if someone will not even move a single finger to be helpful, they are refusing to help at all.

The phrase appears as early as 1650 in a play by Richard Brome, The Queen: it reads:

“I will not lift a finger against thee.”

Example:

Today we still use this phrase to express that we will not help, not even a little; I will not move one finger to help. An example sentence is:

“Everybody wants to get in shape while hardly lifting a finger, but You have to put in the work to get results.”

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