Also:
not raise a finger,
not lift a hand
Meaning of Idiom ‘Not Lift a Finger’
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.
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Usage Notes
This is always a negative phrase. We never say ‘he lifted a finger to help.’ We would say, ‘he would not lift a finger to help.’
However, the idiom can be used without the word not, as long as it is in a negative construction. For example:
“He’s afraid to lift a finger to improve the conditions in the factory. He doesn’t want to lose his job.”
To not lift a hand is sometimes also used, but not lift a finger is more common.
Examples Of Use
“My son won’t lift a finger around the house. He refuses to do any chores at all.”
“My father didn’t lift a finger to help me with college. Then, later, he paid for his stepson’s college tuition, plus room and board!”
“Everybody wants to get in shape while hardly lifting a finger. You have to put in the work. There are no magic bullets.”
“He just lays around all day and never lifts a finger.”
“You didn’t lift a finger to help me when I was unemployed, and now you expect me to loan you money?”
Origin
Clearly, if a person does not even move a single finger to be of assistance, they refuse to help at all. This sentiment appears in the Bible, in a different form when Jesus says, in Luke Chapter 11:46:
“Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.”
The phrase appears as early as 1650 in a play by Richard Brome, The Queen:
“I will not lift a finger against thee.”
More Idioms Starting with N
More Body Part Idioms
- Go Belly Up
- Stand On Someone’s Shoulders
- In One’s Face
- Give Someone the Cold Shoulder
- Know Something Like the Back Of One’s Hand
- Out of the Corner of One’s Eye
- Work One’s Fingers To the Bone
- Thumb Your Nose At Someone Meaning
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- Not the Only Fish in the Sea
- I Hope Not
- Not Much to Look At
- When Hell Freezes Over