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pins and needles

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noun
  1. a tingly, prickly sensation in a limb that is recovering from numbness.
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Idioms
  1. on pins and needles, in a state of nervous anticipation: The father-to-be was on pins and needles.
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Origin of pins and needles

First recorded in 1800–10
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

numbnesssensationtingleformicationparaesthesiaparesthesiapricklingtingling
British Dictionary definitions for pins and needles

pins and needles

noun (functioning as singular) informal
  1. a tingling sensation in the fingers, toes, legs, etc, caused by the return of normal blood circulation after its temporary impairment
  2. on pins and needles in a state of anxious suspense or nervous anticipation
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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