EssayThe Hindu · Editorial
Know your English: examples and meanings of “thumb through” and “thumbs up”
English-usage note on the idioms “thumb through” and “thumbs up”
SP
Samachar Pathshala Desk
Published 17 Jul 2026 · 1 min
Key takeaways
- The lesson explains that “thumb through” and “leaf through” mean to quickly scan printed material.
- The lesson explains that “thumbs up” means approval or agreement.
What happened
An archived English-usage lesson explains two expressions: “thumb through” and “thumbs up”. The note says that “thumb through” or “leaf through” means to quickly go through a book, magazine, or newspaper without reading carefully.
The UPSC angle
Essay
Limited UPSC value; useful only as language-support material
The idioms have no direct UPSC syllabus relevance, but they may help candidates improve comprehension, precision in expression, and editorial reading skills. UPSC may indirectly reward such vocabulary in essay writing, précis, or reading comprehension, but the note is not a substantive current-affairs topic.
