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lay one finger on

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fin⋅ger

  [fing-ger]
Use lay one finger on in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of the terminal members of the hand, esp. one other than the thumb.
2. a part of a glove made to receive a finger.
3. the breadth of a finger as a unit of measurement; digit.
4. the length of a finger: approximately 4 1/2 in. (11 cm).
5. Slang. an informer or spy.
6. something like a finger in form or use, as a projection or pointer: a finger of land leading out into the bay; the finger on the speedometer.
7. any of various projecting parts of machines.
–verb (used with object)
8. to touch with the fingers; toy or meddle with; handle.
9. to touch with the fingers so as to mar or spoil: Please don't finger the vegetables.
10. to pilfer; filch.
11. Music.
a. to play on (an instrument) with the fingers.
b. to perform or mark (a passage of music) with a certain fingering.
12. Slang.
a. to inform against or identify (a criminal) to the authorities: He fingered the man who robbed the bank.
b. to designate as a victim, as of murder or other crime.
–verb (used without object)
13. to touch or handle something with the fingers.
14. to extend in or as in the shape of a finger: Landing piers finger out into the river along the city's shoreline.
—Idioms
15. burn one's fingers, to suffer injury or loss by meddling or by acting rashly: If you get involved in the controversy, you may burn your fingers.
16. give (someone) the finger, Slang. to express contempt for by or as by the obscene gesture of pointing the middle finger upward while folding the other fingers against the palm.
17. have a finger in the pie,
a. to have an interest or share in something.
b. to meddle in something.
18. keep one's fingers crossed, to wish for good luck or success, as in a specific endeavor: Keep your fingers crossed that I get the job.
19. lay or put one's finger on,
a. to indicate exactly; remember: I know the name, but I can't put my finger on it.
b. to discover; locate: I haven't been able to lay my finger on the book you requested.
20. not lift a finger, to make not even a small attempt; do nothing: The house was falling into ruin, but he wouldn't lift a finger to repair it.
21. put the finger on, Slang. finger (def. 12).
22. slip through one's fingers,
a. to elude one, as an opportunity not taken; escape: She let the chance of a lifetime slip through her fingers.
b. to pass or be consumed quickly: Money just slips through his fingers.
23. snap one's fingers (at), to exhibit disdain or contempt (for): She snaps her fingers at the local gossip.
24. twist or wrap around one's little finger, to exert one's influence easily or successfully upon: He has a remarkable talent for twisting people around his little finger.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME, OE; c. G Finger, D vinger, ON fingr, Goth figgrs

Related forms:
fin⋅ger⋅er, noun
fin⋅ger⋅less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Laying One
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Slang Dictionary
finger

  1. tv.
    to point someone out; to identify someone (as having done something, been somewhere, etc.). : Pete fingered Marty as being the one who arrived first.
  2. n.
    someone who identifies criminals for the police; a police informer. (Underworld.) : Taylor has become a finger for the cops.
  3. n.
    an amount of liquor poured into a glass equal to the width of a finger. : Britney said she only drank one finger, but the glass was five inches in diameter!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

finger 
O.E. fingor, from P.Gmc. *fingraz (cf. O.S. fingar, O.N. fingr, Du. vinger, Ger. Finger, Goth. figgrs), with no cognates outside Gmc.; perhaps connected with PIE *pengke, the root meaning "five." As a unit of measure (M.E.) it represents the breadth of a finger, about three-quarters of an inch. The verb meaning "identify a criminal" is underworld slang first recorded 1930. They are generally numbered from the thumb, and named index finger, fool's finger, leech- or physic-finger, and ear-finger.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: fin·ger
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: fin·gered; fin·ger·ing
: to accuse or identify as guilty fingered simply because he fit the stereotype of a young, black street criminal —Jack Ewing>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: fin·ger
Pronunciation: 'fi[ng]-g&r
Function: noun
: any of the five terminating members of the hand : a digit of theforelimb; especially : one other than the thumb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

finger fin·ger (fĭng'gər)
n.
One of the five digits of the hand, especially one other than the thumb.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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