fat finger
informal
noun
Used to refer to clumsy or inaccurate typing, typically resulting from one finger striking two keys at the same time: the programming problem turned out to be a case of fat finger [as modifier]: his texts are full of fat-finger mistakes...
- Some reports claim the culprit was a fat finger on a computer somewhere that pressed the wrong key.
- Meanwhile, have they found out yet who has the fat finger on Wall Street?
- But state and federal regulators say he and his son are two of the latest consumers to fall prey to a trick known as "fat finger dialing."
verb (fat-finger) [with object]
Type (something) inaccurately: you may have fat-fingered your password...
- Taylor says it was common for mechanics to "fat finger" a part number or shop order, which resulted in poor systems performance.
- Ship spectrum data are periodically printed from AESOP and a Sailor must manually key, or "fat-finger," data into the Naval Text Message System.
- It was way too easy to fat-finger some code and not get a compile time error and not get a runtime error either until say a week or two after product goes out.
Derivatives
fat-fingered
- It was just one digit removed from Pizza Hut, a digit fat-fingered dialers found with unnerving precision on a Friday night.
- Talk to me about, was it the uncertainty as to what the EU would do that led to the big sell-off last Thursday and all this talk of fat-fingered trading?
- Even small, fat-fingered typing mistakes cause regret.