put\ one's\ finger\ on

put\ one's\ finger\ on
• put one's finger on
• lay one's finger on
v. phr.
To find exactly.

The engineers couldn't put their fingers on the reason for the rocket's failure to orbit.

We called in an electrician hoping he could put a finger on the cause of the short circuit.


Словарь американских идиом. — СПб., Изд-во "Лань". . 1997.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • put one's finger on — ► put one s finger on identify exactly. Main Entry: ↑finger …   English terms dictionary

  • put one's finger on — also[lay one s finger on] {v. phr.} To find exactly. * /The engineers couldn t put their fingers on the reason for the rocket s failure to orbit./ * /We called in an electrician hoping he could put a finger on the cause of the short circuit./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • put one's finger on — also[lay one s finger on] {v. phr.} To find exactly. * /The engineers couldn t put their fingers on the reason for the rocket s failure to orbit./ * /We called in an electrician hoping he could put a finger on the cause of the short circuit./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • put one's finger on — phrasal identify < put his finger on the cause of the trouble > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • put one's finger on — verb To identify, specify, name or pick out (usually negative) There’s something wrong, but I can’t put my finger on it …   Wiktionary

  • put one's finger on — phrasal : discover, identify put his finger on the cause of the trouble …   Useful english dictionary

  • put one's finger on — identify (something) exactly. → finger …   English new terms dictionary

  • put one's finger on smth — locate precisely, remember exactly I was unable to put my finger on the exact date of his arrival …   Idioms and examples

  • put one's finger on something — identify something exactly he cannot put his finger on what has gone wrong …   Useful english dictionary

  • put one's finger in the dike — attempt to stem the advance of something undesirable Origin: from a story of a small Dutch boy who saved his community from a flood by placing his finger in a hole in a dike …   Useful english dictionary

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