See on pins and needles in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for on pins and needles meaning in English (3.7kB)
{
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "prepositional phrase",
"head": "on pins and needles"
},
"expansion": "on pins and needles",
"name": "head"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "prep_phrase",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
"parents": [
"Terms with redundant transliterations",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1889, Mark Twain, chapter 6, in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court",
"text": "Merlin hesitated a moment or two, and I was on pins and needles during that little while.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1923, Hugh Lofting, chapter 1, in The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, part 5",
"text": "I was on pins and needles of expectation and curiosity.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Feeling sharp anticipation or anxiety; in a state of suspense."
],
"id": "en-on_pins_and_needles-en-prep_phrase-UZALICR-",
"links": [
[
"anticipation",
"anticipation"
],
[
"anxiety",
"anxiety"
],
[
"suspense",
"suspense"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) Feeling sharp anticipation or anxiety; in a state of suspense."
],
"related": [
{
"word": "pins and needles"
},
{
"word": "like a cat on a hot tin roof"
},
{
"word": "like a cat on hot bricks"
},
{
"word": "in limbo"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "on tenterhooks"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "amb l'ai al cor"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "焦慮不安"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "jiāolǜbù'ān",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "焦虑不安"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "提心吊膽"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "tíxīndiàodǎn",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "提心吊胆"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "如坐針氈"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "rúzuòzhēnzhān",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "如坐针毡"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "på stikkerne"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "oppe på lakridserne"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "op hete kolen"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "tűkön ül"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "alig vár"
},
{
"code": "ga",
"lang": "Irish",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "ar bís"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "sui carboni ardenti"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "in sospeso"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "sulle spine"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "ca pe ace"
},
{
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "air bhioran"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "en ascuas"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "en vilo"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "diken üstünde"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-on pins and needles.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/0b/En-au-on_pins_and_needles.ogg/En-au-on_pins_and_needles.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/En-au-on_pins_and_needles.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "on pins and needles"
}
{
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "prepositional phrase",
"head": "on pins and needles"
},
"expansion": "on pins and needles",
"name": "head"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "prep_phrase",
"related": [
{
"word": "pins and needles"
},
{
"word": "like a cat on a hot tin roof"
},
{
"word": "like a cat on hot bricks"
},
{
"word": "in limbo"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English idioms",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English prepositional phrases",
"English terms with audio links",
"English terms with quotations",
"Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
"Translation table header lacks gloss"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1889, Mark Twain, chapter 6, in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court",
"text": "Merlin hesitated a moment or two, and I was on pins and needles during that little while.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1923, Hugh Lofting, chapter 1, in The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, part 5",
"text": "I was on pins and needles of expectation and curiosity.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Feeling sharp anticipation or anxiety; in a state of suspense."
],
"links": [
[
"anticipation",
"anticipation"
],
[
"anxiety",
"anxiety"
],
[
"suspense",
"suspense"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) Feeling sharp anticipation or anxiety; in a state of suspense."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-on pins and needles.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/0b/En-au-on_pins_and_needles.ogg/En-au-on_pins_and_needles.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/En-au-on_pins_and_needles.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "on tenterhooks"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "amb l'ai al cor"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "焦慮不安"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "jiāolǜbù'ān",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "焦虑不安"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "提心吊膽"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "tíxīndiàodǎn",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "提心吊胆"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "如坐針氈"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "rúzuòzhēnzhān",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "如坐针毡"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "på stikkerne"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "oppe på lakridserne"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "op hete kolen"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "tűkön ül"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "alig vár"
},
{
"code": "ga",
"lang": "Irish",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "ar bís"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "sui carboni ardenti"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "in sospeso"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "sulle spine"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "ca pe ace"
},
{
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "air bhioran"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "en ascuas"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "en vilo"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "Translations",
"word": "diken üstünde"
}
],
"word": "on pins and needles"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
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