英和和英

別の表記

• thumb-screw, thumb screw

語源

From thumb +‎ screw.

発音

• IPA: /ˈθʌmskɹuː/

名詞

thumbscrew (plural thumbscrews)

1. A screw that is designed to be turned with the thumb and fingers, thus requiring no screwdriver or spanner (wrench).

   Coordinate terms: thumbwheel; wing nut; handwheel

   • 1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 77:

     Very interested, Dr Grimsby watched the saw follow the fine pencil line on the white pearwood as Peter dexterously twirled the veneers on the fretwork table, timing the movement of both hands precisely to put no strain on either the saw or the wood. Nor did he acknowledge their presence till he had finished a section of the pattern, gingerly released the saw from its upper thumbscrew, and drawn it out of the wood.

2. An instrument of torture used to crush the fingers.
3. (figuratively) A weakness that can be taken advantage of.

   Law 33: Discover Each Man's Thumbscrew ― Robert Greene, The 48 Laws of Power

同意語

• (torture instrument): pilliwinks