| Subject | English | Russian |
| amer., polit. | finger on the button | готовность развязать ядерную войну |
| dipl. | finger on the button | рука на кнопке (готовность начать ядерную войну) |
| amer., polit. | finger on the button | палец на кнопке |
| gen. | have finger on the button | держать палец на красной кнопке (have a/(your) finger on the button – to be the person who controls the nuclear weapons that a country has and decides whether to fire them: If Europe has its own nuclear deterrent, whose finger would be on the button? Taras) |