- thumbs up
- (informal)APPROVAL, seal of approval, endorsement; permission, authorization, consent, yes, leave, authority, sanction, ratification, licence, dispensation, nod, assent, blessing, rubber stamp, clearance; informal go-ahead, OK, green light, say-so.→ thumb
* * *
interjection— used to raise one's spirits or to express a hope of good fortune* * *
thumbs up1. A sign indicating approval, success, hope of, or wishes for, success, etc (also figurative2. Thumbs-upˈ noun).• • •Main Entry: ↑thumb* * *
thumbs up (or down)informal an indication of satisfaction or approval (or of rejection or failure)plans to build a house on the site have been given the thumbs down by the Department of the Environment
Origin:with reference to the signal of approval or disapproval, used by spectators at a Roman amphitheater; the sense has been reversed, as the Romans used ‘thumbs down’ to signify that a beaten gladiator had performed well and should be spared, and ‘thumbs up’ to call for his death* * *
thumbs ˈup/ˈdown idiom•
Their proposals
were given the thumbs down.
•
It looks like it's thumbs up for their latest album.
In contests in ancient Rome the public put their thumbs up if they wanted a gladiator to live, and down if they wanted him to be killed.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.