on pins and needles
anxious and nervous
TRANSLATION
to be on pins and needles = (fig.) auf Nadeln sitzen pins and needles = das Kribbeln, das "Einschlafen" von Körperteilen --- GOOGLE INDEX OWAD: approximately 4,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
"Anytime a storm comes or we have a tornado warning or watch, everybody is on PINS AND NEEDLES, of course."
(Fox News)
---
Friday morning expect Wall Street to be on PINS AND NEEDLES ahead of the all important jobs report, due to be released at 8:30am.
(CNBC.com)
(Fox News)
---
Friday morning expect Wall Street to be on PINS AND NEEDLES ahead of the all important jobs report, due to be released at 8:30am.
(CNBC.com)
Did you
know?
to be on pins and needles
idiom
- in a state of tense anticipation
pins and needles
noun phrase
- a tingling sensation felt in a part of the body numbed from lack of circulation
(American Heritage Dictionary)
---
The 60s American pop singer Jackie Deshannon recorded a song in 1963 about the nervous anticipation of young love:
I saw him today, I saw his face.
It was the face I loved,
And I knew I had to run away,
And get down on my knees and pray,
That they'd go away.
But still they begin,
Needles and pins...
Sony Bono, who actually wrote the song, could have used the original expression "pins and needles." The problem was that the rhythm of the song compelled him to reverse the order. As it turned out, everyone understood the meaning anyway, especially all of those love-struck teenagers listening to the radio.
The figurative sense of "to be on pins and needles" stems from a real medical symptom called "paraesthesia," which is typically caused by a lack of circulation and results in tingling sensations in the body. The common name "pins and needles" derives from the prickly feeling brought about when the skin comes in contact with sharp objects like pins or needles. But when the heart is an excited state, then one is said to be "on pins and needles." Or is it "needles and pins?"
---
SYNONYMS
anxious, antsy, jittery, nervous, to have butterflies, to be in a tizzy
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"We're expecting our first child very soon. That's why we are on pins and needles at the moment!"
idiom
- in a state of tense anticipation
pins and needles
noun phrase
- a tingling sensation felt in a part of the body numbed from lack of circulation
(American Heritage Dictionary)
---
The 60s American pop singer Jackie Deshannon recorded a song in 1963 about the nervous anticipation of young love:
I saw him today, I saw his face.
It was the face I loved,
And I knew I had to run away,
And get down on my knees and pray,
That they'd go away.
But still they begin,
Needles and pins...
Sony Bono, who actually wrote the song, could have used the original expression "pins and needles." The problem was that the rhythm of the song compelled him to reverse the order. As it turned out, everyone understood the meaning anyway, especially all of those love-struck teenagers listening to the radio.
The figurative sense of "to be on pins and needles" stems from a real medical symptom called "paraesthesia," which is typically caused by a lack of circulation and results in tingling sensations in the body. The common name "pins and needles" derives from the prickly feeling brought about when the skin comes in contact with sharp objects like pins or needles. But when the heart is an excited state, then one is said to be "on pins and needles." Or is it "needles and pins?"
---
SYNONYMS
anxious, antsy, jittery, nervous, to have butterflies, to be in a tizzy
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"We're expecting our first child very soon. That's why we are on pins and needles at the moment!"
