Daumen drücken

• Daumen halten (less common)

Literally, “to press one’s thumbs”. Compare similar forms in other European languages.

Daumen drücken (weak, third-person singular present drückt Daumen, past tense drückte Daumen, past participle Daumen gedrückt, auxiliary haben)

1. to make a fist with the thumb covered by the other four fingers, a gesture of luck equivalent to English "cross one's fingers"

   Ich habe das ganze Spiel lang Daumen gedrückt.

   I kept my fingers crossed during the whole match.

2. (figuratively) to cross one's fingers; to wish good luck; to hope for the best

   Ich habe eine Einladung zum Vorstellungsgespräch bekommen. Drück mir die Daumen!

   I have received an invitation to a job interview. Cross your fingers for me!

• The gesture is typically made with both hands and Daumen is therefore usually plural, as can be seen in the second example above. It would be much less common, though not impossible, to use the singular and say: Drück mir den Daumen!

• Daumendrücken