What it means
If someone's light-fingered, they've got a sneaky habit of helping themselves to stuff that isn't theirs. It's a tidy old way of saying thievish without going full courtroom. You'd use it for the mate who pockets lighters, the worker skimming cash, or the guest who leaves and suddenly nobody can find the good cutlery.
Usage examples
"The new lad turned out to be light-fingered, the takings kept coming up short until we finally let him go."
"Don't leave your wallet on the bar, the new bartender has a reputation for being light-fingered."
"My cousin was a bit light-fingered as a teenager, but he straightened himself out in the army."
"Keep an eye on your phone round him, he's a bit light-fingered when he's skint."
"A couple of staff said the bloke was light-fingered, then cash started vanishing from the till."
Where it comes from
Recorded in English since the 1500s, when light could mean nimble or quick in movement. So light-fingered first meant deft with the hands. By the late 1500s it had drifted into the dodgier sense and settled on someone whose hands get very clever around other people's stuff.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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