What's the difference between thumb and thumbscrew?
Thumb
Definition:
(n.) The short, thick first digit of the human hand, differing from the other fingers in having but two phalanges; the pollex. See Pollex.
(v. t.) To handle awkwardly.
(v. t.) To play with the thumbs, or with the thumbs and fingers; as, to thumb over a tune.
(v. t.) To soil or wear with the thumb or the fingers; to soil, or wear out, by frequent handling; also, to cover with the thumb; as, to thumb the touch-hole of a cannon.
(v. i.) To play with the thumb or thumbs; to play clumsily; to thrum.
Example Sentences:
(1) Seventy-five hands showed normal distal latency, in which cases, however, the SNCV of the ring finger was always outside the normal range, while the SNCVs of the thumb, index and middle fingers were abnormal in 64%, 80% and 92% of cases respectively.
(2) The anesthesiologist assessed the degree of neuromuscular blockade intraoperatively prior to pharmacologic reversal either by the standard method of visually counting the number of evoked thumb twitches elicited by supramaximal train-of-four stimulation of the ulnar nerve (i.e., thumb train-of-four count), or by an alternative method such as 1) visually counting the number of evoked orbicularis oculi muscle twitches elicited by supramaximal train-of-four stimulation of the facial nerve, or 2) observing the patient for clinical evidence of partial recovery (e.g., swallowing or attempts to breathe).
(3) At the end of each session, he is forced to don a pair of blackened goggles, ear muffs are placed over his head, and he is ordered to place the palms of his hands together so that a guard can grasp his thumbs to lead him away.
(4) Considering the large number of procedures designed for the thumb trapeziometacarpal (TMC) joint, it is evident that none are completely satisfactory.
(5) Osteocutaneous flaps from the foot are being utilized more for thumb and digit reconstruction.
(6) The patient had associated congenital abnormalities of urethral stricture, hypoplastic thumb, and absent radial pulse.
(7) The power users and early adopters of these apps, the ones you're most likely to see tapping their thumbs over a tiny screen, are under 25.
(8) Tiny, tiny... rodents – some soft and grey, some brown with black stripes, in paintings, posters, wallcharts, thumb-tacked magazine clippings and poorly executed crayon drawings, hurling themselves fatally in their thousands over the cliff of their island home; or crudely taxidermied and mounted, eyes glazed and little paws frozen stiff – on every available surface.
(9) My rule of thumb is that if you see a commentator or politician praising a dictatorship, plutocrat or corporation, the best course is to assume that they have been got at unless they can prove otherwise.
(10) These variations could have an influence on proprioception in the thumb ray.
(11) The patient regained good movement at the interphalangeal joint of the thumb.
(12) Sixteen patients obtained full, independent thumb-index finger extension, three had fair function, and two obtained thumb-index extension by tenodesis of the transfer.
(13) Reversals of field direction showed a shift from lateral inferior to medial superior for thumb to little finger.
(14) Informed understanding of the likely progressive development of index-middle finger scissoring, pronation of the index ray with spontaneous broadening of the pulp, and the deteriorating use of an existing hypoplastic thumb may make the decision for ablation easier for parents.
(15) Two cases of thumb replantation and one of finger revascularization complicated by Aeromonas hydrophila infection are reported.
(16) The palmar digital nerves to the thumb were constant in position and course, with a short lateral cutaneous branch from the radial palmar digital nerve in 30 per cent of cases.
(17) Tactile stimuli were applied to the right index fingertip at intervals ranging from 63 to 1,000 msec after the completion of rapid thumb movement.
(18) In six patients with defective sensibility of the thumb the transfer of a neurovascular island flap was performed according to Littler's technique.
(19) In this discussion we have evaluated in detail the surgical treatment indicated for wrist, metacarpophalangeal joint, and thumb deformities.
(20) To the best of our knowledge it is the first reported case of false aneurysm involving the thumb.
Thumbscrew
Definition:
(n.) A screw having a flat-sided or knurled head, so that it may be turned by the thumb and forefinger.
(n.) An old instrument of torture for compressing the thumb by a screw; a thumbkin.
Example Sentences:
(1) Defiantly, Gentileschi told him her thumbscrews were the wedding ring he’d promised.
(2) As had already been the case after the military coups in Brazil in 1964 and then in Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina, and as was to be the case latterly in modern Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay, the military and police torturers were ready with their electrodes, thumbscrews and waterboarding equipment to defend "western Christian civilisation".
(3) The dispute has also dragged in JK Rowling and the best-selling American writer James Patterson, and broke into the open on Friday , when the world's largest bookseller started turning the thumbscrew on the French-owned publisher.
(4) A sliding beak-like marker, which can be anchored with a thumbscrew, is used to identify landmarks and to measure the amount of subluxation.
(5) But the fact that an unaccountable billionaire has been able to weaponize his wealth, in absolute secrecy, to game the American legal system using puppet claimants to turn thumbscrews on reporters and media companies – do so repeatedly, backing suit after suit: that is something which should terrify us all.