pins and needles

noun

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

pins and needles

noun

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

2. in a state of anxious suspense or nervous anticipation

Word History and Origins

Origin of pins and needles¹

First recorded in 1800–10

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on pins and needles, in a state of nervous anticipation.

   The father-to-be was on pins and needles.

Example Sentences

“We were all on pins and needles,” Missy says.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“Everybody was on pins and needles,” the counselor said at the hearing.

Read more on Salon

"I'd started to get these really intense pins and needles in my hands. It was like throwing a snowball and then running your hands under hot water afterwards. It's really painful and hot."

Read more on BBC

Since Trump’s takeover, Kennedy Center watchers have been on pins and needles about what the schedule might look like.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Writing in his column in The Sunday Times, the 64-year-old said he had symptoms of feeling "clammy", a "tightness" in his chest, and "pins and needles" in his left arm after returning from a holiday.

Read more on BBC