Thumb

“ The thumb is in a different plane from the fingers; when the hand is laid flat on any surface—as this window-pane, for instance—the palmar surfaces of the fingers touch it, whereas it is the side of the thumb which comes in contact and not the palmar surface. But in this"—he tapped the framed glass with his finger—"the prints show the palmar surfaces of all the five digits in contact at once, which is an impossibility. ”

“ Only the tip of the thumb should be sucked; those of you who put the whole thumb into your mouths must not complain if you see smiles exchanged round you. Where the eyes are large and widely opened and the right cast of feature exists, the thumb may be sucked by girls up to forty-five. ”

“ Overthwart lines, that are clear and long underneath the nail and joint of the thumb, confer riches and honor. A line passing from the upper joint of the thumb to the cardiaca, threatens a violent death or danger by means of some married lady. Lines much dispersed in the lower joint of the thumb, describe men that are contentious, and such as rejoice in scolding, &c. A line surrounding the thumb, in the middle joint, portends the man shall be hanged. Equal furrows drawn under the lower joint thereof, argue riches and possessions. ”

“ With the thumb over the ends of the fingers, hold the right hand upright, its back forward, about six inches in front of the face, or on one side of the nose near the face, and suddenly extend and spread all the fingers, thumb included. ”

“ Each finger has three bones, while the thumb has only two. The first bone of the thumb, standing apart from the rest, enjoys a special freedom of motion, and adds greatly to the usefulness of the hand. ”

“ Just where the thumb joins the palm, and between it and the forefinger on the back of the hand, is a muscle which, while at first usually small, can be developed and enlarged by any exercise which necessitates pinching the ends of the thumb and forefinger together, such as carrying a plate of metal or other thin but heavy substance between the finger and thumb. ”

“ The curious marks, as though a man's hand had attempted to strangle her, were of a pale yellowish-brown, the colour of disappearing bruises. One was narrow and small, where the finger had pressed; the other wide and long, the mark of the thumb. ”

“ At the extremity of the hands are five fingers, four of which are in a row, and some long and some short, so that when they take hold of anything, they may come equally together in the palm of the hand. The thumb, which is opposite to the four fingers, is shorter than any of them and stronger, that it may be a help to the whole and render them capable of retaining and grasping. ”

“ In consequence of the proportions and mobility of the thumb, it is what is termed "opposable;" in other words, its extremity can, with the greatest ease, be brought into contact with the extremities of any of the fingers; a property upon which the possibility of our carrying into effect the conceptions of the mind so largely depends. ”

“ It greatly promotes a dexterous use of the fingers when the space between them is large, and when the thumb is opposed to the index. But it is clearly a disease when the thumb is impaired from birth, or when, from a habit contracted during the time of nursing, it is impeded in its motions by the fingers. ”

“ The fingers are then bent out in such a manner that their foremost joints, especially those of the two innermost fingers, rest upon the ground by their upper sides, while the point of the free and straight thumb serves as an aditional fulcrum. ”

“ The short and rather clumsy fingers and thumbs are separate pieces from the palm, which is one straight, broad piece, doubled so as to bring the seam on the same side as the thumb. The thumbs are not alike on both hands. ”

“ Stick your thumb through a knothole and say:—
Old Gran’f’ther Graybeard, without tooths or tongue,
If you’ll give me a little finger I’ll give you a thumb.
Thumb’ll go away and little finger’ll come.
88. Go to the woodpile and say, “Johnnie with your fingers, and Willie with your toes,” and something (suthin) will come out of the woodpile and tear off all your clothes (close) .
Gilsum, N. H.
PUNISHMENT.
89. An “eyewinker” placed in the palm of the hand will cause the ferule to break when the teacher strikes the palm with it. ”

“ An infinite number of movements proceed from these various seats.
We have now reached the semeiotic standpoint, that of these very clear plans, the very starting point of gesture.
The articular centres of the arms are called thermometers: the wrist, that of the organic physical life; the shoulder, that of the sensitive life; and the elbow, that of the relative life.
The thumb has much expression; drawn backward it is a symbol of death, drawn forward it is the sign of life. Where there is abundance of life, the thumb stands out from the hand. ”

“ The thumb? What gives the thumb its freedom of motion?
18, 19. Name and describe the fingers. In what lies the perfection of the hand? How do the gestures of the hand enforce our ideas and feelings? Describe the hip joint. What gives the upper limbs more freedom of motion than the lower? How does the pressure of the air aid us in walking? Illustrate.
20. Name the bones of the lower limbs. Describe the knee joint. The patella. What is the use of the fibula? Can you show how the lower extremity of the fibula, below its juncture with the tibia, is prolonged to form a part of the ankle joint? ”

“ SMOOTH fingers and hands indicate the artistic temperament. These people are frequently inspired, and have curious intuitions concerning coming events. Musicians, spiritualists, and martyrs are of this type, together with many folk who are square pegs in round holes; maybe doing work which is uncongenial to them.
[16]
THE THUMB has also in it certain very marked indications of character. The three bones (or Phalanges) in the thumb each have their interpretation. ”

“ Medical science has proved that there is such a thing as a "thumb centre" in the brain and any pressure or disease in that part of the brain shows its effect in the thumb.
A large well-made thumb is the outward and visible sign of a strong-willed, determined person, be he man or woman.
The longer the thumb, the more the power of will rules the actions; the shorter the thumb, the more brute force and obstinacy sways the nature.
The shorter and more thick-set the nail phalange is, giving the appearance of a club, the more ungovernable is the person in his or her temper. ”

“ You know already that the passing of the thumb under the other fingers, and of the three-middle fingers over the thumb, is absolutely necessary, and that it is the only means by which we are enabled to strike a long series of keys quickly one after the other. ”

“ If the thumb is not helping, nothing remains in your hand, and you don't know what to do with it. Try, by way of experiment, to carry your spoon to your mouth without putting your thumb to it, and you will see what a long time it will take you to get through a poor little plateful of broth. The thumb is placed in such a manner on your hand that it can face each of the other fingers one after another, or all together, as you please; and by this we are enabled to grasp, as if with a pair of pincers, whatever object, whether large or small. ”

“ It seemed that the person who abstracted the diamonds must have cut or scratched his thumb or finger in some way, for there were two drops of blood on the bottom of the safe and one or two bloody smears on a piece of paper, and, in addition, a remarkably clear imprint of a thumb. ”

“ Stick a little wax upon your thumb, and take a stander by, by the fingers, showing him the tester, and telling him you will put the same into his hand, then wring it down hard with your waxed thumb, and using many words, look him in the face, and as soon as you perceive him to look in your face, or on your hand, suddenly take away your thumb and close his hand, and it will seem to him that the tester remaineth; even as it you ring a tester upon one's forehead, it will seem to stick when it is taken away especially if it be wet ”

“ In the highest and most perfect form of hand, thin, delicate, conical fingers are combined with a moderate-sized palm and a well-developed thumb,—both the sensitive and motive parts are in nice and accurate adaptation ”

“ But the human hand presents one suggestive example of a little muscle not found in any other animal, the special small extensor of the thumb, arising from the interosseous membrane between the radius and ulna, and from the radius, being segmented off from the extensor of the metacarpal of the thumb, and it accompanies this muscle and tendon to be inserted into the first phalanx of the thumb, and is peculiar to man. ”

“ In the superior extremities we hardly see them, except in the hand, in which the articulation of the thumb with the first bone of the metacarpus always presents two of them, and in which they are sometimes found in the analogous articulation of the index finger, rarely in that of the little one, or in the phalangeal articulation of the thumb. ”

“ The four fingers have three joints each, and the thumb has but two, that when contracted they may become like the bowl of a spoon or ladle, and that when open they may become like a plate, and so discharge an infinity of services. ”

“ A pointed thumb gives impressionability; square at its tip, decided but not obstinate will; the thumb bending outward shows generosity and impulse and, when much bent inwards towards the palm of the hand, avarice and reticence. People with short fingers are quicker, more impulsive and have more intuition than those who possess long fingers. Those with long fingers have much love of detail—often to a worrying extent ”

“ The cutting edge, if sharp, cuts the outer layer, the callous part of the ball of the thumb, just a little. The sense of feeling is so keen that the resulting friction, slight as it is, is transferred to the brain of the worker long before any injury need be done the thumb. ”

“ Above the mean size, fingers with prominent joints, of an average length, and strong, thick, and bony, with a square tip; palm of a mean size, hollow, and tolerably firm; thumb large, with the muscular root strongly developed. This form of hand cannot exist without a strong, massive developement of the bony and muscular system. It is essentially the hand of man, as the sensitive is that of woman. ”

“ The bones of the arm were strong, with strong projections for the attachment of muscles; those of the wrist were few in number and closely united. The rudimentary first finger, or thumb, consisting of a single slender bone, was turned backward toward the shoulder for the support of the membrane in front of the elbow. ”

“ Bring the thumb, index and second fingers to a point as if grasping a small object, the remaining fingers naturally extended, then place the hand just above the mouth and a few inches in front of it, and make repeated thrusts quickly toward the mouth several times; then place the naturally extended right hand nearly at arm's length before the body, palm up, fingers pointing toward the front and left, and make a short circular motion with the hand, as in Fig. 301, bringing the outer edge toward the body as far as the wrist will permit, throwing the hand forward again at a higher elevation. ”

“ So much, then, for the ears. The next point we come to is the hands in general. I have little to say about them, but then we come to a most important part of the question, one which my learned friend with great solemnity said more than once he thought was of the greatest importance—that is the question of the thumb. And I ask your attention to the way in which this has arisen, and the charge made in connection with it. It is the thumb of the left hand. You saw the plaintiff in the box. ”

“ When I get the first inch of the thread fast between my finger and thumb, it goes hard but I follow it up, bit by bit, little by little, tracing it this way and that, and up and down, and round about, until the whole clue is wound up on my thumb, and the end, and its secret, fast in my fingers. ”

“ In man, the hand is admirably adapted to the exercise 379 of touch. “The fineness of the skin, its great sensibility, the species of cushion formed by the sub-cutaneous fat at the extremities of the fingers, the length and flexibility of these organs, and the capability of opposing the thumb to the fingers, like a pair of forceps, are so many conditions essentially favorable to the delicacy of this sense, and enable us to appreciate with exactitude the qualities of the bodies we may feel.” ”

“ In the digitigrades there is one finger which is but slightly developed, and which is always removed from the ground—that is, the thumb: there is also a little less mobility of the radius around the ulna. ”