thumbnail sketch

Idioms and Phrases

A brief outline or cursory description, as in Let me give you a thumbnail sketch of the situation . This idiom alludes to drawing a picture no larger than a thumbnail. [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

Well, give me in a thumbnail sketch, something about Mr. Jitkoff's background.

From Project Gutenberg

Cummings' life is scarcely even a sketch; at most it is a thumbnail sketch.

From Project Gutenberg

From the thumbnail sketch to the many variations of a conceptual scheme, one eliminating the other, many decisions are arrived at.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• analysis
• biography
• chart
• review
• sketch
• study
• survey