pins and needles

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noun

a tingly, prickly sensation in a limb that is recovering from numbness.

Idioms

on pins and needles, in a state of nervous anticipation: The father-to-be was on pins and needles.

Origin of pins and needles

First recorded in 1800–10

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for pins and needles

numbness, sensation, tingle, formication, paraesthesia, paresthesia, prickling, tingling

British Dictionary definitions for pins and needles

pins and needles

noun (functioning as singular) informal

a tingling sensation in the fingers, toes, legs, etc, caused by the return of normal blood circulation after its temporary impairment

on pins and needles in a state of anxious suspense or nervous anticipation

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012