From the proverb "when he should get aught, each finger is a thumb", from John Heywood 's Collection of 1546.
all thumbs (not comparable )
( idiomatic ) Clumsy ; awkward ; not dextrous .
I am all thumbs when it comes to shuffling cards.
clumsy (idiom)
Chinese:
Cantonese: 雞手鴨腳 / 鸡手鸭脚 ( gai1 sau2 aap3 goek3 )
Mandarin: 笨手笨腳 / 笨手笨脚 (zh) ( bènshǒu-bènjiǎo ) ( stupid hands, stupid feet )
Finnish: peukalo keskellä kämmentä
French: avoir deux mains gauches (fr) ( literally “ have two left hands ” )
German: zwei linke Hände haben (de) ( literally “ have two left hands ” )
Italian: goffo (it) , impacciato (it) , maldestro (it) , mano di pastafrolla
Japanese: 不器用な (ja) ( ぶきような, bukiyō na ) , ぶざまな (ja) ( buzama na )
Navajo: tʼóó bílaʼ dijool ( literally “ hands are just round ” )
Norwegian: ha ti tommeltotter ( literally “ have 10 thumbs ” )
Polish: (mieć) dziurawe ręce
Portuguese: ter dois pés esquerdos ( literally “ have two left feet ” )
Russian: ру́ки как крю́ки́ ( rúki kak krjúkí , literally “ hands like hooks ” ) , ( euphemism ) ру́ки не из того́ ме́ста расту́т ( rúki ne iz tovó mésta rastút , literally “ hands grow from the wrong spot ” ) , ( vulgar ) ру́ки из жо́пы расту́т ( rúki iz žópy rastút , literally “ hands grow from the arse, vulgar ” ) , рукожо́п (ru) ( rukožóp , literally “ arse-handed ” )
Spanish: torpe (es)
Swedish: ha tummen mitt i handen (sv) ( literally “ have the thumb in the middle of the hand ” )