- Home
- Idioms
- needle
needle
camel through the eye of a needle
Used as part of a comparison to indicate that something is impossible or extremely difficult to accomplish. Taken from the passage in the Bible (Luke 18:25), "For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." You'd have an easier time getting a camel through the eye of a needle than getting them to agree on the issue.
darning needle
A regional term for a dragonfly. Primarily heard in US. I hate going to the lake, what with all those darning needles and other bugs constantly flying into me!
needle in a haystack
Something that is very difficult to locate. Trying to find my contact lens on the floor was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
put a rope to the eye of a needle
To attempt a futile task. A: "I can't believe he thinks that he'll get into law school with his poor grades!" B: "I know, he's really putting a rope to the eye of a needle with that plan."
thread the needle
1. To insert thread through the eye of a needle. You'll need to thread the needle before you can start sewing.
2. To pass something through a narrow space between two things. The quarterback really threaded the needle with that pass between two defenders.
3. A children's game in which the participants stand in a line and hold hands. The person at the end of the line then ducks under the others' linked arms, pulling the rest of the line along with him or her. Come on, we're playing thread the needle!
be like looking for a needle in a haystack
To be similar to searching for something that is very difficult to locate, especially something small and/or something hidden among similar things. Trying to find my contact lens on the floor was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
be on pins and needles
To be anxious and tense. The phrase likely derived from the tingling sensation (called "pins and needles") that occurs when blood flow returns to a numb limb. A: "Why is Carrie pacing?" B: "She's waiting for the doctor to call with her test results, so she's been on pins and needles all day."
like looking for a needle in a haystack
Fig. engaged in a hopeless search. Trying to find a white glove in the snow is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I tried to find my lost contact lens on the beach, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
needle someone about someone or something
to pester or bother someone about someone or something. Please don't needle me about Jane. Stop needling me about eating out.
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.
pins and needles
Fig. a tingling feeling in some part of one's body, especially the arms and legs. (See also
on pins and needles.)
I've got pins and needles in my legs. Mary gets pins and needles if she crosses her arms for long. a needle in a haystack
something extremely hard to find
It's pretty much a needle in a haystack because these fish are extremely hard to find. Usage notes: also used in the forms look for a needle in a haystack and find a needle in a haystack
Etymology: based on the idea that it is to almost impossible to find a thin sewing needle in a haystack (a very tall pile of dried grass)
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.
be like looking for a needle in a haystack
to be difficult or impossible to find I don't know how you find anything in your desk, Polly. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
be on pins and needles
(American & Australian) to be nervously waiting to see what is going to happen We're on pins and needles waiting to hear whether she got the job.
have pins and needles
to feel slight, sharp pains in a part of your body when you move it after it has been kept still for a period of time (often + in ) I've been sitting on my leg for the last hour and now I've got pins and needles in my foot.
needle in a haystack
An item that is very hard or impossible to locate, as in Looking for that screw in Dean's workshop amounts to looking for a needle in a haystack. Originating in the early 1500s, with meadow instead of haystack, this metaphor exists in many other languages as well.
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.
needle
tv. to annoy someone. Tom is always needling Frank.
needle candy
n. narcotics that are taken by injection. (see also
nose (candy).)
Max likes needle candy best of all. on the needle
mod. addicted to injectable drugs. (Drugs.) My sister’s on the needle, and I want to help her.
on pins and needles
In a state of tense anticipation.
vaccinated with a Victrola needle
Someone who chatters incessantly. Victrola, a division of R.C.A. Victor, was a brand of phonograph players. Since phono records were played with needles that picked up the sound vibrations in the record's grooves, to be vaccinated with a Victrola needle, as the joke implied, was to be inoculated with the gift of nonstop gab.
Common Names:
| Name | Gender | Pronounced | Usage |
|---|
| Arvel | | - | English |
| Jamshed | | - | Persian, Tajik, Persian Mythology |
| Ivory | | IE-və-ree, IEV-ree | African American |
| Ruperta | | roo-PER-tah | Spanish |
| Oliwia | | aw-LEEV-yah | Polish |
| Wilfreda | | wil-FRED-ə | English (Rare) |