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/ˈθʌmskɹuː/ · noun
A screw that is designed to be turned with the thumb and fingers, thus requiring no screwdriver or spanner (wrench)..
Very interested, Dr Grimsby watched the saw follow the fine pencil line on the white pearwood as Peter dexterously twirled the veneers on the fretwork table, timing the movement of both hands precisely to put no strain on either the saw or the wood. Nor did he acknowledge their presence till he had finished a section of the pattern, gingerly released the saw from its upper thumbscrew, and drawn it out of the wood.
To ensure good behavior, the slaveholder relies on the whip; […] to imbrute and destroy his manhood, he relies on the whip, the chain, the gag, the thumb-screw, the pillory, the bowie-knife, the pistol, and the blood-hound.
Law 33: Discover Each Man's Thumbscrew ― Robert Greene, The 48 Laws of Power
Use thumbscrew when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Thumbscrew means A screw that is designed to be turned with the thumb and fingers, thus requiring no screwdriver or spanner (wrench)..
Common synonyms include pilliwinks.
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
Very interested, Dr Grimsby watched the saw follow the fine pencil line on the white pearwood as Peter dexterously twirled the veneers on the fretwork table, timing the movement of both hands precisely to put no strain on either the saw or the wood. Nor did he acknowledge their presence till he had finished a section of the pattern, gingerly released the saw from its upper thumbscrew, and drawn it out of the wood.
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