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

Any thumbnail sketch of the 38-year-old is bound to start with the fact that he was for more than five years the partner of Mr Attal.

From BBC

"It is very easy to draw a very bold thumbnail sketch of Margaret and you can make her a cliché," the Oscar-nominated actress says.

From BBC

But, given the museum’s three small rooms, it’s a thumbnail sketch of a thumbnail sketch.

From Los Angeles Times

Something of a thumbnail sketch, it has no catalog.

From Los Angeles Times

Billed as a retrospective, it’s more like a thumbnail sketch for one, given the modest size.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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