sit on one's hands
Meaning: To do nothing when action is needed.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The government sat on its hands while prices soared.”
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: Someone sitting on their hands cannot use them. The phrase, first used of audiences refusing to applaud, is found from the early 20th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- German: die Hände in den Schoß legen — literally: to lay the hands in the lap
- French: Avoir les deux pieds dans le même sabot — literally: To have both feet in the same clog
More idioms — Body & Senses
- beat someone to a pulp — To beat someone very severely.
- have had it up to here — To be completely fed up.
- a spare tire — A roll of fat around the waist.
- get out of hand — To become impossible to control.
- bang one's head against a brick wall — To keep trying something with no result.
- get off on the right foot — To make a good start.
More English idioms
- flat out — As fast or as hard as possible.
- can't carry a tune in a bucket — Sings very badly.
- a smash hit — To be a huge success.
- firing on all cylinders — Working at full power and efficiency.
- by the bucketload — In large quantities.
- trouble in paradise — Problems in a relationship or situation that seemed perfect.
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