writer's cramp

American  

noun

1. spasmodic, painful contractions of the muscles of the thumb, forefinger, and forearm during writing.

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writer's cramp British  

noun

1. a muscular spasm or temporary paralysis of the muscles of the thumb and first two fingers caused by prolonged writing

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

writer's cramp

In Amersham, England, the city magistrate court was forced to adjourn temporarily when Court Clerk A. Ferguson got writer's cramp.

From Time Magazine Archive

The mayors respond like pre-med students before final exams, asking the same basic questions and getting writer's cramp taking notes.

From Time Magazine Archive

In the British Journal of Mental Science, Pai reports that he has found writer's cramp surprisingly widespread in Britain.*

From Time Magazine Archive

Newspapers reported that Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb, prolific humorist and short story writer, was down with writer's cramp in San Francisco, had to stop work on his memoirs.

From Time Magazine Archive

He wrote from morning until night, and watching him stretching his lean old hands, I asked him if he suffered much pain from writer's cramp.

From The White Road to Verdun by Burke, Kathleen