pull one's finger out
"pull-one-s-finger-out" is a 17-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pull one's finger out” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 21
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To stop wasting time in preliminaries, and concentrate on the important task.
Corpus desk
Index EN-pull-one-s-finger-out · pull one's finger out · English
pull one's finger out · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 21 letters
- VOW-7 7 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pull one's finger out |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 21 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “pull one's finger out” in English
Rare enough to double-check
pull one's finger out is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To stop wasting time in preliminaries, and concentrate on the important task.".
pull one's finger out doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Clipping of pull one's finger out of one's arse, probably from the notion that one should not sit on one's hands. The correct English form is pull one's finger out, spelled P-U-L-L- -O-N-E-'-S- -F-I-N-G-E-R- -O-U-T.
Definition
- 1To stop wasting time in preliminaries, and concentrate on the important task.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how pull one's finger out appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
You've been sitting there all week. It's time you sorted yourself out and pulled your finger out!
Speaking at Mayor's Question Time on February 24, Sheikh said: "It's time for the Government to pull its finger out and give TfL the funding package it needs in the wake of the pandemic.
Etymology
Clipping of pull one's finger out of one's arse, probably from the notion that one should not sit on one's hands.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.