put one's finger on en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
-
(idiomatic, in the negative) To identify, specify, name or pick out.
“Now, there’s something wrong with that,” Breyer said, to laughter. “I’m trying to put my finger on it.”
2017 January 9, Robert Barnes, “High court questions why refunds aren’t automatic when a Colo. conviction is overturned”, in Washington Post:There’s something wrong, but I can’t put my finger on it.
He had the quick witted imagination to put his finger right on the correct method of attacking a problem but no patience to see it through to the bitter end.
2011, Derek Rosser, Earning a Crust, page 86:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| put one's finger on | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| put one's finger on | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| putting one's finger on | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| puts one's finger on | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Translations (15)
fr identifier (identify) · sv sätta fingret på (identify) · es señalar (identify) · pl sprecyzować (identify) · fr mettre le doigt sur (identify) · pl identyfikować (identify) · pl wskazać palcem (identify) · de erkennen (identify) · pl wskazywać palcem (identify) · ru показывать пальцем (identify) · cmn 点明 (identify) · de identifizieren (identify) · cmn 指出 (identify) · fi osoittaa sormella (identify) · pl precyzować (identify)