What it means
Nickname for someone who’s always fumbling and dropping things, like their fingers are slick with butter. You’ll hear it when a mate launches their phone, spills a drink, or can’t keep hold of their keys. It’s usually light banter rather than a proper dig, the kind of thing you say while helping them pick everything up again at the worst possible moment, every time.
Usage examples
"Nice one, butterfingers, you’ve dropped the pint again and soaked my trainers. Give it here before you redecorate the pub floor."
"Right, butterfingers, that is the third mug this week, maybe stick to the plastic ones until I find the receipt for the new set."
"He fielded fine all summer in the back garden, but the moment a real cricket ball came at him in the school match he became a proper butterfingers."
Where it comes from
Goes back to the nineteenth century, with Dickens dropping it into the Pickwick Papers in 1836 as a tag for a fumbling fielder. The image is straight from the kitchen, fingers slick with butter cannot grip anything. The cricket pitch and the schoolyard kept it alive ever since.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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