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3. on pins and needles

on pins and needles

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on pins and needles

Fig. anxious; in suspense. I've been on pins and needles all day, waiting for you to call with the news. We were on pins and needles until we heard that your plane had landed safely.

See also: and, needle, on, pin

on pins and needles

worried or excited about something I was on pins and needles until she called to say she had arrived in Istanbul.

See also: and, needle, on, pin

on pins and needles

Nervously anxious, as in He was on pins and needles, waiting for the test results. The graphic expression pins and needles for the tingling sensation experienced in recovering from numbness was transferred to a feeling of marked mental uneasiness about 1800.

See also: and, needle, on, pin

on pins and needles

In a state of tense anticipation.

See also: and, needle, on, pin