Meaning
A blunt, informal British and Australian demand meaning 'stop dawdling and start making a real effort'. Almost always imperative, addressed to someone judged to be idling or procrastinating: 'pull your finger out and finish that report'. Fuller, coarser forms spell out what the finger is to be pulled out of. Informal, direct and often brusque; stronger and coarser in its fuller form. Regional use: British and Australian English.
Origin
The Phrase Finder traces the first known print appearance to Aussie: The Australian Soldiers' Magazine of March 1919 ('Tell the bloke who issues the prizes to pull his finger out'), and treats the expression as Australian soldiers' slang that the British Army adopted, spreading more widely among British forces during the Second World War. It is understood as a shortened form of a cruder phrase about pulling one's finger out of one's backside, the image being of an idler who must literally bestir himself; exactly which finger, and out of what, remains speculation. A story told by guides aboard HMS Victory, that the order told powder-monkeys to remove a finger blocking a cannon, is folk etymology with no evidential basis.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- get your finger out
- pull one's finger out
- pull your finger out of your arse
- pull your finger out of your ass
Usage Examples
- If the decorators don't pull their fingers out, the office won't be ready for the relaunch.
- You've had three extensions on this essay; time to pull your finger out.
- The coach told the squad to pull their fingers out before Saturday's qualifier.