on pins and needles
Feeling sharp anticipation or anxiety; in a state of suspense.
Merlin hesitated a moment or two, and I was on pins and needles during that little while.
pins
noun 1
Definitions
noun
1
Acronym of person in need of supervision (“a juvenile not currently living with a parent or guardian”).
Collocations
5ADJ.
all, single
She organized all the pins in a neat row on the cork board.
VERB + PINS
box, drawing, falling, got, ground, hit, like, setting
She got pins and needles in her leg after sitting down for too long.
PINS + NOUN
crime, needles, pub, skewers
He pulled needles and pins from the pincushion to mend the torn jacket.
PREP.
in, on, on, up, with
She pinned up the photos on the bulletin board with colorful pins.
ADV.
such
She was so nervous before the presentation that she was pins and needles all morning.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
Antonyms
Idioms & Phrases
for two pins
Readily, with only the slightest encouragement.
He doesn't, but he's a man with an eye in his head, and he knows what we are, a boneless lot without organization. I say it myself, I said it only last night in this here bar, and
row of pins
An insignificant thing, a whit.
“[…] they wouldn’t let us have even a row of pins without the money for ’em—no, not if we was to drop down dead for want of bread in their shops.”
Example Bank
601
I've got pins and needles in my leg.
Tatoeba · #27445802
They're on pins and needles.
Tatoeba · #30588803
The author pins the crime on a character who pops up in the last chapter of this book.
Tatoeba · #47838904
A haiku ought to have a word that pins it to a season.
Tatoeba · #204015105
I need some hairpins and bobby pins.
Tatoeba · #282090306
Hand me that box of pins.
Tatoeba · #3821498Usage Notes
i Register
In some senses, pins is marked as US. Watch for register when choosing this word.
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