sit on one's hands

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

sit on one's hands (third-person singular simple present sits on one's hands, present participle sitting on one's hands, simple past and past participle sat on one's hands)

1. (idiomatic) To remain idle when action is needed, perhaps because of fear, ignorance, complacency, indecisiveness, or dislike of the person(s) or situation.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:loiter

   Coordinate term: twiddle one's thumbs

   • 2023 March 8, Mel Holley, “TSSA accepts offer, but RMT sets new strike dates”, in RAIL, number 978, page 10:

     "Ministers cannot continue to sit on their hands, hoping this dispute will go away. Our members are fully prepared to fight tooth-and-nail for a negotiated settlement," RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch has warned.

2. (theater, informal) To fail to applaud when expected to.
   • 1946, Billboard, volume 58, number 40:

     While Boston is a "musical town," audiences here sat on their hands a good part of the time.

Related terms

• hand-sitter

 

Translations

to remain idle when action is needed

• Finnish: pyöritellä peukaloitaan
• French: rester les bras croisés (fr)
• German: (nur) dumm rumsitzen
• Polish: siedzieć z założonymi rękami (pl), siedzieć z założonymi rękoma (pl)
• Spanish: cruzarse de brazos, mano sobre mano (es) (after a verb; usu. estar)

See also

• sit on one's ass (vulgar)

See also

• take a stand
• take sitting down