| 释义 |
▪ I. pin, n.1|pɪn|
Forms: 1 pinn, 4–7 pynne, pinne, 5–6 pyn, (5 pene, pyne, 6 pynn, pine), 6–8 pinn, 6– pin.
[Late OE. pinn, a common Low Ger. word: MLG., LG. pinne, pin, LG. also penne, pen (Brem. Wbch.), MDu. pinne (‘pinna, spiculum, cuspis, veruculum, aculeus, scopus, clavus ligneus’ Kilian), Du. pin pin, peg (in Hexham pinne, ‘also the pinnacle of a steeple’); MHG. (rare) phinne nail, plug, Ger. pinne and pin: late ON. pinni (14th c.), Norw., Sw. pinne, Da. pind; generally held to be ad. L. pinna, in the Vulgate, Luke iv. 9 = ‘pinnacle’, ‘applied to points of various kinds, battlements, cutting edge of an ax’ (Walde Lat. Etym. Wbch., where it is distinguished from penna feather, also often spelt pinna).]
I. Primary sense: = peg.
1. a. A small piece of wood, metal, or other solid substance, of cylindrical or similar shape, often tapering or pointed, used for some one of various purposes, as to fasten or hold together parts of a structure, to hang something upon, to stop up a hole, or as a part of mechanism to convey or check motion; a peg, a bolt.
a1100Gerefa in Anglia (1886) IX. 265 Ne sceolde he nan þing forᵹyman..ne musfellan, ne, þæt ᵹit læsse is, to hæpsan pinn. c1325Gloss. W. de Bibbesw. in Wright Voc. 167 E par deuz hietes [gloss the ax-tre pinnes] se tenent owel. Ibid. 168 Devaunt les braceroles sount biletz [gloss pinnes]. [1329Wardr. Acc. (Acc. Exch. K.R. Bd. 383. No. 9) m. 1 Pro..pynnis ac cathenis pro leporariis ligandis.] c1386Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 119 And turne ayeyn with writhyng of a pyn. c1412Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 1104 And vp is broken, lok, hasp, barre & pyn. c1440Promp. Parv. 399/2 Pynne, of tymbyr (or pegge..), cavilla. Ibid., Pynne, of metalle, as yryne,..spintrum. 1484Caxton Fables of æsop vi. vii, [The kat] hynge hym self by his two feet behynd at a pynne of yron whiche was styked at a balke. 1489― Faytes of A. ii. xxiv. 138 Pinnes of wode to ioine the palys. 1527Churchw. Acc. St. Giles, Reading 31 For lathes, nayles,..tile pynnes for the new hous. 1575Laneham Let. (1871) 56 This tent had seauen cart lode of pynz perteining too it. 1607Norden Surv. Dial. iii. 125 As if a man should build a house, without pinne or nayle. 1632Sanderson Serm. 427 Not the least wheele or pinne or notch. 1664Evelyn Sylva (1679) 27 Oak is excellent for..pinns and peggs for tyling, &c. a1713T. Ellwood Autobiog. (1765) 98 The Keys were hung upon a Pin in the Hall. 1825J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 158 The lower frame-work..is connected by means of the pins or wedges. 1875Knight Dict. Mech., Pin... 3. The axis of a sheave. An axis of a joint, as of the gimbal or compass-joint. 1884F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 51 A..cylinder studded with pins for lifting the hammers is a chiming train. 1885Law Rep. 15 Q. Bench Div. 316 A catch..at the end of an iron pin, which prevented the pin, when passed through a slit, from repassing.
fig.1637Rutherford Let. to J. Gordon 16 June, See that there be not a loose pin in the work of your salvation. 1711Countrey-Man's Let. to Curat 34 The old Politick, that 'tis Dangerous to innovate or loose a Pinn.
b. An indicator of a long or pointed shape: as † the hand of a clock; † the gnomon of a sun-dial; † the index or tongue of a balance (obs.).
c1440Promp. Parv. 399/2 Pynne, of an orlage,..schowynge þe owrys of the day. 1639G. Daniel Vervic. 568 Number will prevaile, And turne the pin of bright Astrea⊇s Skale. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. vi. iii. 123 The Pin or Gnomon..being 37 parts, and the shadow..28.
†c. A peg, nail, or stud fixed in the centre of a target. Obs.
c1450Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 138 Now be my trowthe ȝe hitte the pynne. 1584W. Elderton in Halliw. Yorks. Anthol. (1851) 6 Walmsley did the vpshot win, With both his shafts so near the pin. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. iv. 15 The very pinne of his heart, cleft with the blind Bowe⁓boyes but-shaft. 1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. v. xvii. 426 To cleave the pinne and do the deed.
d. In a stringed musical instrument: Each of the pegs round which the strings are fastened at one end, and by turning which they are tuned; a tuning-pin, tuning-peg: = peg n.1 2 a. Also fig.: cf. 16.
1587Greene Tritameron ii. Wks. (Grosart) III. 121 Fearing if he wrested not the pin to a right key, his melody would be marred. 1592― Philomela ibid. XI. 126 Giouanni hearing hir harpe on that string [love] strained it a pin higher thus. 1594Lyly Moth. Bomb. v. iii, He looses his rosen, that his fiddle goes cush, cush..his mouth so drie that he hath not spittle for his pinne. 1607–12Bacon Ess., Empire (Arb.) 298 Nero could touch and tune the Harp well, But in gouernement sometymes he vsed to wynd the pynnes to highe, sometymes to let them downe to lowe. a1800Bonny Bows o' London in Buchan's Ballads (1828) II. 130 Ye'll take a lith o' my little finger bane, And ye'll make a pin to your fiddle then. 1885C. G. W. Lock Workshop Receipts Ser. iv. 285/2 As the pins and wires of pianos become worn, it is necessary to renew them.
†e. A peg, nail, etc. fixed in a surface, to mark a place, or for ornament or other purpose. Obs.
1648–78Hexham, Pen of de Trock-Tafel, the Pin upon a Billyard table. c1650Robin Hood his death 44 in Furniv. Percy Folio I. 53 When they came to Merry church lees they knoc[k]ed vpon a pin. 1689Lond. Gaz. No. 2429/4 A Silver Box and a pinn'd Case, many of the Pins being come out, so that the Brass was seen.
f. One of a set of pegs fixed on the inside of a large drinking-vessel, dividing it into equal parts, said by some to indicate the limit of each drinker's draught: = peg n.1 2 b.
1592Nashe P. Penilesse 23 King Edgar..caused certaine iron cups to be chained..at euery Vintners doore, with iron pins in them, to stint euery man how much he should drinke: and he that went beyond one of those pins forfeited a penny for euery draught. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. iii. ii. §3 That Priests should not go to Publick Drinkings, nec ad pinnas bibant, nor drink at Pins. This was a Dutch trick..of Artificial Drunkenness, out of a Cup marked with certain Pins, and he accounted the Man, who could nick the Pin, drinking even unto it. 1673Holborn Drollery 76 Edgar away with pins i' th' Cup To spoil our drinking whole ones up. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Nick it,..to Drink to the pin or button. 1850Longfellow Gold. Leg. i. Court-yard of Castle 17 No jovial din Of drinking wassail to the pin.
g. The cylindrical part in a lock on which the pipe or hollow stem of the key fits. Also, that part of a key which enters the lock (esp. if solid instead of hollow).
1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 25 If you have a Pin to the Lock,..the Pin is rivetted into the Plate. 1875Knight Dict. Mech., Pin... 9. The part of a key-stem which enters the lock.
h. Naut. (a) A peg fixed in the side of a rowing-boat as a fulcrum for the oar; a thole-pin. (b) Applied to various pegs or bolts used in a ship, e.g. to make fast the rigging (belaying-pins), to keep the capstan-bars in place, etc.
1832H. Martineau Ella of Gar. ii. 32 How are you to row? The pins are out that should fix your oars. 1836Marryat Midsh. Easy xxvi, Holding on by the belaying pin. c1850Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 137 Pins, short iron rods fixed occasionally in the drum-heads of capstans, and through the ends of the bars, to prevent their unshipping. Ibid., Pins of boats, pins of iron or wood fixed along the gunwales of some boats (instead of rowlocks) whose oars are confined by grommets. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 161 Capstan-bars..are..held in their places in the drumhead holes, by little iron bolts called capstan or safety pins.
i. Carpentry. The projecting part or ‘tenon’ of a dovetail joint, which fits into the ‘mortise’.
1847Smeaton Builder's Man. 88 The projecting piece..is called the pin of the dovetail; and the aperture into which it is fitted..is called the socket. 1875Carpentry & Join. 64 Cabinet-makers..do not often make broad dovetails, as they make the pins narrower and further apart in general than joiners.
j. Quoits. The peg or ‘hob’ at which the quoit is aimed.
[1801Strutt Sports & Past. ii. ii. §9 Quoits... To play at this game, an iron pin, called a hob, is driven into the ground [etc.]. ]1857Chambers' Inform. People II. 704/2 The quoit being delivered..with a steady aim at the pin. 1897Crockett Lad's Love xviii, His first quoit fell within three inches of the pin.
k. Golf. An iron rod bearing a small flag, used to mark the position of a hole.
1901Scotsman 5 Sept. 7/3 His magnificent approach to within a yard of the pin. 1905Westm. Gaz. 23 Aug. 5/1 Had a perfect mashie shot and lay three yards off the pin.
l. ? The latch or handle of a door: see Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v. Pin 4 and Tirl 2. dial.
17..Clerk Saunders iv. in Scott Minstr. Scot. Bord. (1869) 377 Then take the sword from my scabbard, And slowly lift the pin; And you may swear, and safe your aith, Ye never let Clerk Saunders in. ― Prince Robert ix. ibid. 381 O he has run to Darlinton, And tirled at the pin. 1804R. Couper Poetry I. 232 (E.D.D.) Your fingers numb Will hardly turn the pin. 1816Scott Antiq. xl, Murder tirl'd at the door-pin. 1870Morris Earthly Par. III. iv. 39 There knocking, was he bidden in, And heedfully he raised the pin, And entering stood.
m. One of the metal projections of a plug, which make the electrical connection when it is inserted into a socket.
1888[see plug n. 1 c]. 1902W. C. Clinton Electric Wiring iv. 85 The flexible..terminates in two split pins, which are a spring fit into two tubular sockets. 1945F. Wiseman Penguin Handyman i. 19 One end is connected to the earth pin in the three-pin plug, whilst the other end is connected to the metal housing or frame of the fire. 1963House & Garden Feb. 8/3 Replace those old-fashioned two-pin plugs with a three-pin, and check the fuse-box. 1972Electricity Supply & Safety (Consumers' Assoc.) 49 You can connect an old type of plug with round pins to a rectangular hole socket with the right adaptor.
n. A metal peg which prevents a hand-grenade from exploding by holding down the activating lever.
1917C. R. Gibson War Inventions vi. 95 Until the soldier was ready to throw the bomb the little lever was held down by a metal pin. When the soldier withdrew this pin, the lever was still held down by the hand with which he threw the bomb, and not until it left his hand did the fuse begin to burn. 1920A. R. Bond Inventions of Gt. War ii. 29 The Mills hand-grenade..was provided with a lever which was normally strapped down and held by means of a safety-pin. 1952G. E. Thornton Handbk. Weapon Training ix. 101 With a hand grenade these [techniques] include..the method of removing the safety pin or cap. 1972‘H. Calvin’ Take Two Popes xv. 182 Soldiers..ready to pull out grenade pins with their teeth. 1977C. Forbes Avalanche Express viii. 85 The grenade he would have withdrawn the pin from..if..faced with imminent arrest.
o. A coupling-pin. Used esp. in phr. to pull the pin: to uncouple; also fig. (see quots.). N. Amer. slang.
1927Amer. Speech II. 391/2 To bunch, or to drag it, means to quit. To pull the pin has the same meaning. This is a railroad term and means to uncouple. 1947R. O. Boyer Dark Ship ii. xvii. 227 The teamsters had pulled the pin too early. The strike is being lost. 1955Amer. Speech XXX. 92 Pull the pin, to release the pin that connects a semitrailer to a fifth wheel. 1968Ibid. XLIII. 289 Pull the pin, to resign, quit, or be fired from a job: ‘They pulled the pin on him.’ Relates to the switching function in the days of the link-and-pin coupler (long since replaced by the safer automatic coupler) by which a car was uncoupled and released. 1972J. Wambaugh Blue Knight (1973) x. 161 An old man that should've pulled the pin years ago. Now he'd been here too long. He couldn't leave or he'd die. 1977― Black Marble (1978) ix. 168 Twenty-six years on the job when he pulled the pin and went to Arizona.
p. A support of an arch.
1928Daily Tel. 7 Feb. 14/1 The arch is a two ‘pin’ crescent structure, and the distance from ‘pin’ to ‘pin’..is 531 ft.
†2. fig. (from 1). That on which something ‘hangs’ or depends. Obs. (Cf. peg n.1 5.)
c1407Lydg. Reson & Sens. 2952 They hangen by another pyn. 1538Starkey England ii. i. 164 A grete parte of thys mater hangyth apon one pine. 1648Eikon Bas. xxiv. 236 A great part of whose piety hung upon that popular pin of rayling against, and contemning the Government and Liturgy of this Church. 1748Hartley Observ. Man ii. ii. 116 That Point, being settled, becomes a capital Pin, upon which all the Pagan Chronology depends.
II. = ME. and Sc. preen, F. épingle.
3. a. A slender piece of wire (now usually of brass or iron, tinned), formed with a sharp tapered point at one end and a flattened round head at the other, commonly used to fasten together parts of dress, loose papers, etc., for mounting entomological specimens, and for various purposes. Also applied to larger articles of the same kind made of steel, gold, silver, etc., often more or less ornamental, and used for securing the hair, a hat, shawl, scarf, etc., or merely for ornament. See also drawing-pin, hairpin, hat-pin, safety pin, scarf pin, etc. (The most frequent use.) Also (U.S.), a badge indicating membership of a university or college fraternity, or similar society, etc.
c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 12 Þei becomen pedderis berynge knyues, pursis, pynnys and girdlis [etc.] for wymmen. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 64 She was atyred with highe longe pynnes lyke a iebet, and so..[they] saide she bare a galous on her hede. 1480Maldon, Essex, Crt. Rolls Bundle 51 No. 3, xvi nedeles, xii dressyng pynnes. 1496Dives & Paup. (W. de W.) vii. vii. 285 Yf childern in ther youth stele pynnes or apples or ony other smale thynges. Ibid. xii. 295 A lady..can pynne her hode ayenst the wynde with a smale pynne of laton .xii. for a peny. 1545Rates of Customs c ij, Pynnes the dossen thousande iis. 1632Massinger City Madam iv. iv, A silver pin Headed with a pearl worth three-pence. 1668Pepys Diary 2 Jan., He that will not stoop for a pin will never be worth a pound. 1712Addison Spect. No. 295 ⁋4 A Pin a Day, says our frugal Proverb, is a Groat a Year. 1801Bloomfield Rural T., Rich. & Kate xxii, As like him, ay, as pin to pin. 1851D. Wilson Preh. Ann. (1863) I. ii. vi. 475 The contents of the tumuli include bone pins, needles [etc.]. 1871L. H. Bagg 4 Years at Yale 144 Its original badge was a rectangular gold plate, about the size and shape of the present Beta Xi pin. 1893W. K. Post Harvard Stories 216 Freddy..asked me one day why Sheffield wore that funny little pin all the time. 1910J. Hart Vigilante Girl 19 My dear fellow, you may cast aside your Eastern frigidity—in fact, I will call it your Cambridge frigidity, for I see you wear a Harvard pin. 1928Amer. Speech III. 220 Put out one's pin, v. phr., to become engaged, to promise marriage. ‘Scoop didn't have his pin on Dorothy very long, did he?’ 1943Ibid. XVIII. 154/2 Plant a pin, the process by which a fraternity man signifies his willingness to wait in the hall for the same girl every time. It consists of presenting her with his pin to wear. 1974Marlboro Herald-Advocate (Bennettsville, S. Carolina) 18 Apr. 7/1 Rupert Kiker, president presented John L. Hargrave with a 20 year membership pin in the Lions International. Roy Easterling, Sr., was presented a 15 year pin. 1977C. McFadden Serial (1978) xviii. 43/2 He still wear his Key Club pin?
b. As a type of something very small, or of very slight value or significance: esp. in phr. not worth a pin (or two pins), not to care a pin (or two pins), etc. Also, a row of pins (in quot. 1896 as a type of similarity).
13..K. Alis. 6146 (Bodl. MS.) He nolde ȝiue a pynne Bot he miȝth þise wynne. c1460Towneley Myst. iii. 364 Thi felowship set I not at a pyn. a1529Skelton Magnif. 1028 With a pere my loue you may wynne, And ye may lese it for a pynne. c1530H. Rhodes Bk. Nurture 420 in Babees Bk. 93 Yet he is not worth a pin. 1579Fulke Confut. Sanders 634, I would so esteeme them,..but not a pinne the more. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. v. 4 Who not a pin Does care for looke of living creatures eye. 1602Narcissus (1893) 31 A pinne for povertye! 1628Earle Microcosm., Sceptic in Relig. (Arb.) 67 He chuses this, not as better, but because there is not a pin to choose. 1777Sheridan Sch. Scand iii. i, 'Tis evident you never cared a pin for me. 1785European Mag. VIII. 96 Your robe is not a pin the worse. 1887[see choose v. 12]. 1891[see for prep. 9]. 1896Kipling Seven Seas 193 When you get to a man in the case, They're like as a row of pins—For the Colonel's Lady an' Judy O'Grady Are sisters under their skins! 1900Pollok & Thom Sports Burma II. 43 One of my elephants..did not care two pins for a tiger. 1914W. W. Jacobs Night Watches i. 25 ‘For two pins—’ he began. ‘For two pins I'll go back 'ome and stay there,’ said Mr. Flynn. 1918A. G. Gardiner Leaves in Wind 162 John Burns..does not care two pins who sees him or talks about him. 1920W. J. Locke House of Baltazar i. 16 It doesn't seem to amount to a row of pins compared with my meeting you. 1947[see hide n.1 2 c]. 1973J. Porter It's Murder with Dover vii. 64 Her unsupported word isn't worth a row of pins. 1979Country Life 16 Aug. 489/2 This Lord Hertford cared not two pins for society... His single passion was collecting.
c. pin's head, pin's point: in literal sense, or allusive as in b; also attrib. (cf. pin matter in 18).
1415–40Dk. of Orleans Poems (1827) 8 And if she wolde..But graunt me loo liche to a pynnys hed Part of hiris. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 7 It is not so moche as a pynnes poynt, compared to y⊇ hole erth. 1622Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. i. 63 It had not beene a Pins⁓poynt matter; I should haue set light by it. 1698Christ Exalted §78. 61 Man's Law will not hang a Man for stealing a Pins head. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VII. 301 The eggs are no larger than pins points. 1879Mrs. A. G. F. E. James Ind. Househ. Managem. 76 We did not lose the value of a pin's head. 1879St. George's Hosp. Rep. IX. 5 A pin's-head perforation in the sigmoid flexure.
d. pins and needles: popular name for a pricking or tingling sensation, as that which accompanies the recovery of feeling in a limb after numbness. on pins and needles: in a state of excessive uneasiness.
1810J. Poole Hamlet Travestie 8 Would it were supper-time... Till then I'm sitting upon pins and needles. 1813W. Dunlap Mem. G. F. Cooke II. xxx. 265 As it was—it was bad enough—my voice—haw!—there are pins and needles—I must send for a physician. 1844J. T. J. Hewlett Parsons & W. vi, The pins and needles sensations which followed. 1858Queen Victoria Let. 8 Mar. in R. Fulford Dearest Child (1964) 72 All you say..reminds me of what I was always used to a child. Always on pins and needles, with the whole family hardly on speaking terms. 1869Routledge's Ev. Boy's Ann. 640 He had enough pins and needles in his feet to stock a haberdasher's shop. 1885T. A. Guthrie Tinted Venus 40 The shock ran up to his elbow and gave him acute ‘pins and needles’. 1897Pall Mall Mag. Aug. 530 He was plainly on pins and needles, did not know whether to take or to refuse a cigar. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 64 Subjective sensations such as heat and cold, pins and needles,..may persist during the intervals. 1944W. S. Maugham Razor's Edge iii. 112 The bishop had been a cavalry officer..and his austere, cadaverous vicar general was always on pins and needles lest he should say something scandalous. 1951E. Paul Springtime in Paris xv. 283 Dr. Thiouville was on pins and needles. 1979Country Life 16 Aug. 489/4 The French were waiting on pins and needles to hear that the great [Wallace] collection would be theirs.
e. as neat as a (new) pin.
1787Columbian Mag. I. 636 [He was] neat as a new pin. 1801J. Wolcot Wks. (1812) V. 35 How neat was Ellen in her dress! As neat as a new pin! 1849Thackeray Pendennis I. xiii. 118 Major Pendennis, whom Miss Costigan declared to be a proper gentleman entirely,..and as neat as a pin. 1933L. A. G. Strong Sea Wall 245 Sheehan's pride was to have his cottage as neat as a new pin. 1961Dog World Apr. 30 In the morning we leave the room looking as neat as a pin!
f. to be able to hear a pin drop (or fall), etc.: used to suggest absolute silence or stillness.
[1775F. Burney Diary 11 June (1907) II. 81 Had a pin fallen, I suppose we should have taken it at least for a thunder-clap.] 1814M. B. Smith Let. Aug. in G. Hunt 40 Yrs. Washington Society (1906) 113 It was so still you might have heard a pin drop on the pavement. 1824S. E. Ferrier Inheritance ii. xiv. 156 You might have heard a pin drop in the house while that was going on. 1831Macaulay Let. 30 Mar. (1974) II. 10 You might have heard a pin drop as Duncannon read the numbers. Then again the shouts broke out. 1870Miss Mulock Fair France iv. (1871) 145 As the phrase is, ‘you might have heard a pin fall’. 1890[see drop v. 3]. 1914Maclean's Mag. May 9/2 We could have heard a pin drop. 1934A. Christie Murder on Orient Express iii. ix. 246 Every eye was fixed upon him. In the stillness you could have heard a pin drop. 1959I. & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolch. x. 193 ‘Let's 'ave a bit of shush’, ‘Let's hear this pin drop’,..‘Pipe down’. 1977Daily Mirror 15 Mar. 3/3 They screamed, yelled and clapped between numbers, but while he sang you could have heard a pin drop.
g. to stick pins into (a person): to incite to action; to irritate or annoy.
1903A. H. Lewis Boss 184 This ain't meant to stick pins into you.
h. A gramophone needle.
1914Kipling Lett. of Travel (1920) 215 They slipped in pin and record.
4. transf.
†a. A thorn or prickle. Obs.
b. The incipient bur or blossom of the hop.
1643Trapp Comm. Gen. xiii. 6 There are pins in all the worlds roses. 1900Daily News 23 July 2/4 The hop plant has grown well this week, and the bine is already putting out pin for burr.
III. (Cf. med.L. pinna, Du. pinne pinnacle.)
†5. A point, peak, apex. Obs. exc. dial.
c1450Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 208 Up to this pynnacle now go we, I xal the sett on the hyȝest pynne. 1819W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd vi. (1827) 184 The sun was cockin' now upon The vera pin o' Mid-day's cone. 1838Penny Cycl. XI. 57/2 The most prominent object [in Connamara] is a group of conical mountains called the Twelve Pins. 1892J. Barlow Irish Idylls i. 2 Those twelve towering Connemarese peaks, which in Saxon speech have dwindled into Pins.
6. The projecting bone of the hip, esp. in horses and cattle: cf. pin-bone, -buttock in 18. Now dial.
1703Lond. Gaz. No. 3886/4 A grey Nag,..gall'd upon the near Pin. 1726Brice's Weekly Jrnl. 25 Mar. 3 A Brown Bay Nag..thin behind, the Pins standing a little out. 1807Vancouver Agric. Devon (1813) 327 Line of the back straight..lying completely on a level with the pin or huckles. 1903Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v., A cow ‘high in the pins’.
IV. Transferred uses (chiefly from I).
7. A leg; usually in pl. Also fig. colloq. or dial.
c1530Hickscorner D iij, Than wolde I renne thyder on my pynnes As fast as I might go. 1628Earle Microcosm., Downe-r. Scholar (Arb.) 41 His body is not set vpon nice Pinnes. 1781Burgoyne Ld. of Manor iii. iv, I never saw a fellow better set upon his pins. 1829P. Egan Boxiana 2nd Ser. II. 10 With all his struggling to right himself, he could not recover the use of his pins. a1845Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. iii. Ld. Thoulouse 275 Who ventures this road need be firm on his pins! 1880‘Mark Twain’ Lett. to Publishers (1967) 125. It saved the company's life and set them high on their pins and free of debt. 1883Standard 8 Jan. 2/4 Iroquois [a race-horse] has been very ‘dickey’ on his pins. 1888‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms i, Wonderfully strong and quick on his pins. 1890Harper's Mag. LXXX. 269/2 Glad to hear that he is on his pins yet; he might have pegged out in ten years, you know. 1917‘H. H. Richardson’ Fortunes R. Mahony iv. viii. 355 Give your old pin here, and let me poultice it. 1960[see few a. 2 f]. 1971Petticoat 17 July 32/1 You need to be healthy too because you're likely to find yourself standing on your two pins all day and every day. 1976Daily Mirror 11 Mar. 24/2 You look a bit wobbly on your pins, pet.
8. A skittle; also, a skittle or pin knocked down, as a scoring point. In pl. the game of skittles. See also ninepins, tenpins.
1580Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Quilles, as iouër aux quilles, to play at nine pins. 1600Rowlands Lett. Humours Blood iv. 64 To play at..nine holes, or ten pinnes. 1694S. Johnson Notes Past. Let. Bp. Burnet i. 39 A cleaverer Tip..than taking out the Middle Pin and throwing down none of the rest. 1869Routledge's Ev. Boy's Ann. 516 When all the pins [in American bowls] are knocked down by one ball. 1881Young Every Man his own Mechanic §86 The large pins used in skittle playing. 1974Cleveland (Ohio) Plain Dealer 13 Oct. 8-c/3 Anthony..missed a perfect game by a single pin in the..finals. Ibid. 26 Oct. 5-d/4 A bowling ball can mean the difference of up to 20 pins in a game depending on the surface and balance of the ball. 1976Burnham-on-Sea Gaz. 20 Apr. 21/5 Thatchers Arms A, the North Petherton Summer Skittles League champions, lost their first home match of the new season by six pins when Clarence Hotel A came from behind on the last hand. 1976Bridgwater Mercury 21 Dec. 18/2 Brent Knoll Inn put an end to the last 100 per cent record in the first division of the Burnham, Highbridge and District Ladies' Skittles League by gaining a seven-pin away win at White Hart Hotel.
9.
†a. A knot in wood (looking like a peg driven in). Obs.
1545R. Ascham Toxoph. (Arb.) 115 The boughe commonlye is verye knotty, and full of pinnes. 1585Higins tr. Junius' Nomenclator 144/1 The pinne or hard corne of a knot in timber, which hurteth sawes.
b. A hard spot occurring in steel during the process of manufacture.
1831Brewster Nat. Magic v. (1833) 116 When the steel has hard portions called pins by the workmen. 1884C. G. W. Lock Workshop Receipts Ser. iii. 279/2 Free from those hard bright spots which workmen call ‘pins’.
†10.
a. A hard swelling on the sole of a hawk's foot; a disease characterized by such swellings (also called pin-gout: see 18). Obs.
1575Turberv. Falconrie 260 Of the Pin in the Hawkes foote, a disease much like the corne in the foote of a man. Ibid., The Pynne is a swelling disease, that doth resemble sharpe nayles, rysing vp in the bottome or palme of the Hawkes foote. 1615Latham Falconry (1633) 134 With a sharpe knife search and pare out the pinne, or core, or corne. 1688R. Holme Armoury ii. 237/2 The Pynne.
†b. A corn on the toe or foot. Obs.
1611Cotgr., Frouelle, an agnell, pinne, or warnell in the toe.
†11. pin and web: name for a disease of the eye (? characterized by a spot or excrescence like a pin's head, and a film covering the general surface: according to Dr. S. B. Atkinson, ‘phlyctenular ulcer with conjunctivitis’). Obs.
1533Elyot Cast. Helthe (1541) 79 By these destillations or reumes hapneth many diseases..as..pynne and webe in the eyes. 1575Turberv. Falconrie 300 This disease of the Pinne & webbe, is of some men called the Veroll. 1605Shakes. Lear iii. iv. 122 This is the foule Flibbertigibbet;..Hee giues the Web and the Pin, squints the eye, and makes the Hare-lippe. 1672J. Josselyn New Eng. Rarities 96 To take off a Pin and Web, or any kind of Filme growing over the Eye. 1725Bradley Fam. Dict., Pearl, a Disease in an Horse's Eye, under which Head we shall comprehend Pins, Spots, Webs, &c. 1858Mayne Expos. Lex., Pin and Web, an old popular name for an opacity of the cornea.
12. A small cask or keg holding half a firkin, or 4½ gallons.
1570Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees) I. 341, iij pynnes for caryage of drenk a feld. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Pin, a small Vessel containing Four Gallons and a half, or the Eighth part of a Barrel. 1743Lond. & Country Brew. iv. (ed. 2) 293 Powder one of the Balls and put it into a Pin or Half a Firkin. 1814Sporting Mag. XLIII. 112 He used to have a pin of beer. c1900Advertisement, Beer in Cask. Discount for Cash on or before Delivery; 3d. Pin; 6d. Firkin; 1s. Kilderkin.
†13. A piece at chess; also, at the game of merels. In the latter referring app. to actual pegs; in chess extended either from these, or from the shape of Tudor chessmen, which were not unlike ninepins. Obs.
1688R. Holme Armoury iii. xvi. (Roxb.) 66/1 The King is the first and highest of all the chesse pins. Ibid., The Queene is the next pin in height to the King. 1784Cowper Task vi. 271 At the chequer'd board..with a hand Trembling, as if eternity were hung In balance on his conduct of a pin.
14. a. Cookery. Short for rolling-pin.
1894Cassell's Univ. Cookery Bk. 740 Keep the board and pin well floured.
b. Short for knitting-pin, knitting-needle.
1897Tit Bits 4 Dec. 175/3 As the old lady put down her pins, the Princess took them up, and finished the stocking-heel.
V. Phraseological uses.
15. In the phrase on or upon a merry pin, esp. to set the heart on a merry pin, to have the heart hanging on a jolly pin, whence also upon the peevish pin, on another pin, etc.; later, in a merry pin, in a merry humour, disposition, or frame of mind. arch. or dial.
The origin is obscure. In later use sometimes (cf. quot. 1658) associated with the musical tuning-peg, as in next.
c1386Chaucer Merch. T. 272 By my fader kyn Youre herte hangeth on a ioly pyn. c1440Partonope 5552 Youre hert ys on another pynne. c1485Digby Myst. v. 492, I wyll sett my soule on a mery pynne. 1530Palsgr. 844/1 Upon a mery pynne, de hayt. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 578 King Charles heart by gettyng of Paris, was set vpon a merye Pinne. 1587Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1015/2 The commons hauing now their willes, were set vpon a pin, that the game was theirs. 1658Osborn Adv. Son i. (1896) 24 Success doth often wind him up to a jovial pin. 1666J. Sergeant Let. Thanks 42 You cannot for your heart yet wean your self of that merry pin of Fancy. 1676Shadwell Virtuoso i. i, I never was on a better pin in my life. 1694L'Estrange Fables cccii. (1714) 316 The Woman was One day upon the Peevish Pin. 1770Gentl. Mag. XL. 559 To express the Condition of an Honest Fellow and no Flincher under the Effects of Good Fellowship, he is said to be..On a merry pin. 1779T. Hutchinson Diary 6 Oct., Dined at Amen Corner..Sir John upon a merry pin.
Intended 18th-c. lang. [1855A. Manning O. Chelsea Bun-ho. iv. 64 As for the Doctor, he was quite on the merry Pin.]
1661Blount Glossogr. (ed. 2) s.v., He is in a merry Pin. 1782Cowper Gilpin 178 Right glad to find His friend in merry pin. 1818Blackw. Mag. III. 407 Were I in the pin. 1887J. A. L. Riley Athos 210 Our prelate was in merry pin.
†16. Pitch; degree; step: esp. with higher, lower, utmost, raise, take down. Obs. (Cf. peg n.1 3.)
Originally, a figure taken from a musical tuning-peg (see 1 d); in quot. 1617 perh. referring to the rack.
1584Greene Myrr. Modestie Wks. (Grosart) III. 24 The Iudges..seeing she had infringed their reasons, by the power of the law thought to wrest hir vpon a higher pin. 1617Hieron Wks. II. 141 The prodigal sonne..sets his course euen vpon the racke, and stretcheth it out to the vtmost pinne. a1624Bp. M. Smith Serm. (1632) 188 They..went more roundly and roughly to worke with them, taking them downe a pinne or two lower. a1643W. Cartwright Ordinary ii. iii, He's but one pin above a natural. 1651N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. ii. vii. (1739) 41 To raise the price of their Cloaths to their own covetous pin. 1669R. Montagu in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 452, I am confident we shall bring them a pin lower. 1731W. Bowman Serm. xxix, To set our selves on the same pin With Paul and Peter. 1776C. Keith Farmer's Ha', They mak a loud and joyfu' din, For ilka heart is raised a pin.
17. Phrase. to put in the pin (colloq. or slang), to put a check or stop to some course; to call a halt; esp. to give up drinking. So to keep in the pin, to keep from drinking; to let loose a pin. (Eng. Dial. Dict.)
Supposed by some to have reference to the pins in a drinking-cup (1 f); but it may refer more generally to the use of a pin or peg in stopping motion or making fast, and of letting loose by taking out the pin.
1832–53Whistle-binkie (Scot. Songs) Ser. iii. 112, I ance was persuaded to ‘put in the pin’, But foul fa' the bit o't ava wad bide in, For whisky's a thing so bewitchingly stout, The first time I smelt it, the pin it lap out. 1835J. Monteath Dunblane Tradit. (1887) 89 (E.D.D.) He had religiously abstained from drinking during the twelve months he had himself determined to keep in the pin. 1851Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 345/1 He had two or three times resolved to better himself, and had ‘put in the pin’, meaning he had made a vow to refrain from drinking. 1856Deil's Hallowe'en 14 (E.D.D.) The Deil that e'en was ettlin' to let loose a pin.
VI.
18. attrib. and Comb., as pin-box, pin-flag, pin-heel (so pin-heeled adj.), pin-hook, pin-manufactory, pin-mark, pin-seller, pin-snatcher, pin-sticking, pin-thrusting; pin-sharp adj.; † pin-auger, an auger for boring holes for pins or pegs; pin-bit = pin-drill; pin-block, (a) a block of wood in which pins or pegs are fixed; (b) a block of wood to be shaped into a pin or peg (Cent. Dict.); pinboard, a panel having an array of identical sockets each connected to some of a set of wires, so that inserting a conducting pin into any of the sockets makes an electrical connection between some of the wires; † pin-bole, pinboll, ? some contrivance for floating a fishing-net; pin-bone, (a) the hip-bone, esp. of a horse (see 6); (b) (see quot. 1936); pin-borer, a Canadian beetle (Xyleborus dispar) which makes small round punctures like pinholes in the bark of pear-trees; † pin-bouke [see bowk], some kind of vessel for liquids; pin-boy (see quots.); pin-brained a., foolish, stupid; pin-bush, ‘a fine reaming- or polishing-tool for delicate metal-work’ (Cent. Dict.); pin-buttock, a narrow or sharp buttock; hence pin-buttocked a.; pin-cherry, the N. American wild red cherry (Prunus pennsylvanica); pin-cloth, a pinafore (? obs.); pin clover, name in California (from the shape of the seed-vessel) for the European stork's-bill (Erodium cicutarium), widely naturalized there; also, = alfilaria; pin connexion, a connexion of the parts of an iron or steel bridge by pins (instead of rivets, etc.; cf. pin-joint); so pin-connected a. (cf. pin-jointed adj.); pin-cop [cop n.2 3], a pear-shaped ‘cop’ or roll of yarn, used for the weft in a power-loom; also attrib.; pincord = needlecord s.v. needle n. 14; pin-curl, (a) an artificial curl of hair held in place by a hairpin; (b) a curl held in position during setting by a hairpin or other clip; pin curler, a pin or clip for securing pin-curls; pin dot, a tiny dot; spec. (see quot. 1957); pin-drill, a drill with a projecting central pin surrounded by a cutting face, used for countersinking, etc.; pin-drop a. (of silence) in which one could ‘hear a pin drop’; pin-dropping a. = pin-drop adj.; also as adv.; pin-fall, (a) the fall of a pin; a trifling incident; (b) the number of pins knocked down in a tenpin bowling game; a score in tenpin bowling; pin-fish, name for two N. American elongated sparoid fishes (Lagodon rhomboides, Diplodus holbrooki); also a small sun-fish, Lepomis pallidus; pin-fit v. trans. and intr., in Sewing, to pin into position during fitting; pin-flat, a flat pin-cushion formed of two disks of cardboard lined and covered with some textile material, so that pins can be stuck into the edge (U.S.); pin-footed a. = fin-footed: see fin n.1 6; † pin-gout, a disease in a hawk's foot (see 10); pin-grass = pin-clover; pin ground, a pin-spot ground upon a textile; pin hinge, a hinge in which the two leaves are pivoted on a pin passing through a sheath in each; pin-hold, ‘a place at which a pin holds or makes fast’ (Smart, 1836); † pin-hood , ‘the hood attached to a cloak, and fitted to be drawn over the hat or bonnet of the wearer’ (Jam.); pin-hooker U.S. (see quot. 1944); pin joint, a form of joint in which two parts are connected by a pin passing through an eye in each; so pin-jointed a.; pin-leg, (a) a wooden leg; (b) a narrow, spindly leg; hence pin-legged a.; pin lever, used attrib. and absol. to denote a pin-pallet watch or escapement; pin-machine, a machine for making pins; pin-man, (a) a man who sells, or manipulates, pins; (b) a figure of a man appearing as composed of lines without breadth, esp. in a drawing; pin-mandrel (see quot.); pin-mark, a circular impression on the side of a piece of type, made by part of the mould used in casting; † pin matter, the matter of a pin, that which matters a pin; not a pin matter, something that matters not a pin: cf. matter n. 18; pin-mill = pin-wheel 3; pin-necked a., having tufts of feathers on the neck, as the pinnated grouse or prairie-hen; pin-new a., brand-new; pin oak, a species of oak (Quercus palustris) found in swampy places in N. America; so called from the persistent dead branches, which resemble pins or pegs fixed in the trunk; also attrib.; pin pallet (see quot.); in an escapement, a pallet in the form of a metal pin or a semi-circular jewel (now used chiefly in cheap escapements); pin-paper, a paper of pins (paper n. 6 b); fig. a collection of samples; pin party Naut. slang (see quot. 1946); pin-patch (dial.), a periwinkle (? because extracted from its shell with a pin); pin plate, Engin., a plate with a hole for the pin that is riveted to a member at the site of a pin joint; pin-pool, ‘a game played on a billiard-table with three balls, and five small pins’ (Century Dict. 1889), or any of various related games; pin-poppet (dial.), a cylindrical case for pins; † pin-powder = pin-dust; pin-prod = pin-prick; † pin-purse, ? a pin-case, or a pin-cushion; pin-rack Naut., a rack or frame on the deck of a ship, in which belaying-pins are fixed; pin-rail, a rail or bar in which pins or pegs are fixed; pin-rib, ‘a delicate cord or rib woven in the substance of fine muslin’ (Cent. Dict.); pin-rod, ‘in a locomotive, a tie-rod connecting the brake-shoes on opposite sides’ (Cent. Dict.); pin screen Cinematogr. (see quot. 1976); also attrib.; pin seal, the treated skin of young seals; also attrib.; pin-setter, in tenpin bowling, a person who, or a machine that, rearranges fallen skittles; = pin-boy; hence pin-setting vbl. n.; freq. attrib.; pin-splitter Golfing slang, (a) a crack golfer; (b) an accurate shot to the pin or a club which is supposed to aid such a shot; pin-spot, (a) each of a number of small round spots like pins’ heads forming a pattern upon a textile fabric; (b) Theatr. (see quots.); hence pin-spotted a.; pin spotter = pin-setter; pin stenter, a stenter in which cloth is held by means of two rows of pins, one along each edge; pin-stitch (see quot. 1936); hence pin-stitched a., pin-stitching; pin switch (Telegr.), a switch in which electric connexion is made by pins passing through holes in metal plates; pin's-worth, the worth of a pin, an extremely small amount; pin-table = pin-ball machine s.v. pin-ball 3; pin-tongs n. pl., a kind of tongs or pliers for holding pins or other small objects; pin-tool, a tubular cutting-tool for making cylindrical wooden pins (Knight Dict. Mech. 1875); pin-tooth, (a) each of the (sharp-pointed) teeth of the escapement-wheel in a clock or watch; (b) a canine tooth; † pin-trace, some part of horse-harness; pin valve = needle valve s.v. needle n. 14; pin-vice (see quots.); pin-weed, a plant of the N. American genus Lechea (family Cistaceæ); pin-winged a., having the first primary feather of the wing attenuated, as in some American Columbidæ; pin-wire, wire of which pins are made; pin-wood, wood fit for pins or pegs; pin-worm, a parasitic nematode worm of the order Oxyuroidea; also = tomato pinworm. See also pin-basket, pin-case, pincushion, etc. and Eng. Dial. Dict.
1523Fitzherb. Husb. §5 An axe, a hachet, a hedgynge⁓byll, a *pyn awgur, a rest awgur, a flayle.
1873E. Spon Workshop Receipts Ser. i. 134/2 With a..*pin-bit, bore a hole about a 1/4 of an inch deep.
1880A. J. Hipkins in Grove Dict. Mus. II. 722/1 The tuning-pin screws..into the thick metal wrestpin-piece, and through it into the wooden wrestplank or *pinblock.
1957Electronic Engin. XXIX. 30 Problems are programmed by plugging step by step operations in columns on the *pinboards, a column for each operation, and when a pin is inserted into a hole, connexions are automatically made to carry out the instruction. 1966R. K. Richards Electronic Digital Syst. ix. 553 Like a plugboard, a complete pinboard assembly with its pins can be removed from a system and saved for re-use while other pinboards..are used for the solution of other problems. 1969P. B. Jordain Condensed Computer Encycl. 383 A 10 × 10 pinboard with 100 holes can connect any of 10 incoming signals (horizontal) to any of 10 outgoing paths (vertical).
1615E. S. Britain's Buss in Arb. Garner III. 625 Cork *pynboles or buyes belonging to those nets. Ibid. 631 For every two nets, there must be a Pynboll or Bwy hooped... Each Pynboll or Bwy must have a rope of a yard long, to fasten it to the War-rope.
1640Carew in Doidge's W. Country Ann. (1882) 211 It..strake Roger Nise on the *pinbone. 1711Lond. Gaz. No. 4849/4 The Hair rubb'd off the near Pinbone. 1805Sporting Mag. XXV. 226 Joint steaks, pinbone-steaks, sausages. 1936Discovery Oct. 321/1 Pins had been made by individual craftsmen using a small bone implement, on the flat surface of which was a series of inch-long grooves, deep at one end but tapering at the other. This tool served to file the pins to a point, its formation making it possible to shape several at one time from lengths of wire. Many of these ‘pin-bones’ still exist. 1945ABC of Cookery (Ministry of Food) ix. 29 Hip or pin bone steak. 1973R. D. Symons Where Wagon Led p. xiii, I learned the cowboy's names, and could speak of pinbones and stifles and croups. 1978Sunday Tel. 17 Sept. 11/3 Do you know, for example, what is called Pope's eye or heuk bone in Scotland, hip bone in the Midlands or pin bone in Wales? It's what many of us call rump.
1593Drayton Moses iii. Wks. (1748) 480/2 Pails, kits, dishes, basons, *pinboukes, bowls.
1858Simmonds Dict. Trade Products, *Pin-box, Pin-case, a small fancy box for holding pins.
1892A. E. Vogell Bowling 8 *Pin boy, boy who returns the balls cast and resets the pins. 1958Wall St. Jrnl. 9 Dec. 1/4 Automatic pinboys..have played a major role in the bowling boom. 1959Listener 19 Mar. 501/1 The latest development is an automatic pin-boy... An ingenious electrical device will set up the pins and return the balls. 1975Oxf. Compan. Sports & Games 92/1 In the earlier years of the game pin-boys were employed to re-set the pins after each frame.
1964Listener 20 Feb. 313/1 A smug biologist and his *pin-brained wife. 1966B. Kimenye Kalasanda Revisited 31 His successor was flirting madly with some pin-brained girl.
1884Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl., *Pin Bush, a reaming or polishing tool for pin holes.
1601Shakes. All's Well ii. ii. 18 It is like a Barbers chaire that fits all buttockes, the *pin buttocke, the quatch-buttocke, the brawn buttocke, or any buttocke. 1725Bradley Fam. Dict. s.v. Rules buying horse, The narrow pin Buttock, the Hog or Swine-Rump,..are full of Deformity. 1977‘E. Crispin’ Glimpses of Moon i. 11 There were several such benches in the bar-room—memorials to a centuries-extinct clientèle of pin-buttocks—but otherwise the furniture was all modern.
1601Holland Pliny II. 370 They are sharp rumped and *pin buttockt. 1683Lond. Gaz. No. 1810/4 A Gelding,..Pin-Buttockt or narrow.
1791Gentl. Mag. LXI. ii. 964 One of the..children..approached so near the fire that the flames caught his *pin-cloth. 1846,1854[see pinner3 2].
1884Miller Plant-n., Pin-grass, or *Pin-clover, of California, Erodium cicutarium. 1913W. C. Barnes Western Grazing Grounds 39 Alfileria is also known as ‘heron's bill’ and ‘pin clover’. 1925W. L. Jepson Man. Flowering Plants Calif. 592 The term filaree..is, like the names Pin Clover or Pin Grass, indifferently applied to either this species [sc. Erodium moschatum] or to no. 5 [sc. E. cicutarium].
1878Min. Proc. Inst. Civil Engin. LIV. 179 All these American bridges are ‘*pin connected’, this style of construction being preferred by American engineers for spans exceeding 100 feet, on account of the mathematical certainty with which the strains can be calculated. 1968E. H. & C. N. Gaylord Struct. Engin. Handbk. vi. 71 The AISC Specification requires that the allowable tensile stress on the net section transverse to the axis of the member be reduced 25 percent at pinholes in pin-connected plates. 1969Civil Engin. (Easton, Pa.) June 45/1 Columns were pin-connected top and bottom to prevent any supplementary stress from differential settlement or rotation of the foundations.
1878Min. Proc. Inst. Civil Engin. LIV. 214 There was undoubtedly a considerable difference in the use of what the Author [sc. T. C. Clarke] called *pin-connections as compared with rivet-connections. 1974Encycl. Brit. Macropædia III. 177/2 The first major iron-truss bridge, with pin connections, was built in the United States in 1851.
1839Ure Dict. Arts 503 Yarns..wound upon what is called a ‘*pin cop bobbin’.
1977New Yorker 8 Aug. 72/1 (Advt.), Our handsome, lightweight hobby pants in no-iron Dacron/cotton *pincord, ideal for travel and leisure. 1979A. Scholefield Point of Honour 142 White pincord slacks.
1896Daily News 27 Nov. 5/2 Our English great-grandmothers called ‘coques’ ‘comb-curls’ or ‘*pin-curls’, because they were..stiffly arranged and held in their place with small side combs or hairpins. 1904Daily Chron. 7 Oct. 8/5 She buys a ‘pin-curl’ and attaches it to her cycling hat! 1931G. A. Foan Art & Craft of Hairdressing 28/1 Pin-curls..may be used as side-pieces to be worn in front of the ears. 1950E. Hemingway Across River xix. 152 You ought to have to sleep in a bed with a girl who has put her hair up in pin curls to be beautiful tomorrow. 1963D. B. Hughes Expendable Man (1964) i. 10 ‘Don't you need a mirror?’.. But she could wind the pin curls without it.
Ibid. 18 Her hair done up in *pin curlers under the dirty scarf.
1891Kipling Light that Failed (1900) 172 There were only weaving circles and floating *pin-dots before his eyes. 1957M. B. Picken Fashion Dict. 252/2 Pin dot, smallest dot used as fabric design. 1978N.Y. Times 30 Mar. a4/1 (Advt.), A pin-dot tie.
1875Knight Dict. Mech., *Pin-drill, a drill for countersinking.
1816L. Hunt Rimini i. 244 A *pin-drop silence strikes o'er all the place.
1971D. Francis Bonecrack i. 9 There was a long *pin-dropping silence. 1973Advocate-News (Barbados) 29 June 6/6 The lighting..succeeded in transforming the massive stadium through moods of harried excitement to ‘pin-dropping’ silence. 1977New Yorker 19 Sept. 50/1 The hall was pin-dropping quiet.
1912W. Deeping Sincerity vii. 56 A good lady whose troubles had been so many *pinfalls in the closeted selfishness of her little life. 1974Cleveland (Ohio) Plain Dealer 27 Oct. 1-c/4 Colwell began the first day of competition in this inaugural event with a 1363 pinfall. 1976Billings (Montana) Gaz. 30 June 4-e/2 Here are the top 10 bowlers and their total pinfall after four rounds (26 games) of the $60,000 Portland Open Bowling Tournament.
1964McCall's Sewing ii. 31/1 *Pin-fit, to pin and adjust the garment to your figure before permanent stitching. Ibid. vi. 93/1 When you try on the garment, it is very easy to pin-fit and taper the legs to a becoming width. 1973Washington Post 5 Jan. b5/4 (Advt.), Price includes fabric and labor with choice of skirt, self-cording and pin-fitting in your home.
a1916‘Saki’ Toys of Peace (1919) 290 To-day we are putting little *pin-flags again into maps of the Balkan region. 1957M. Banton W. Afr. City ix. 176, 4,000 pin-flags were brought out of concealment and fastened in the clothing of their comrades.
1864Webster, *Pin-footed, having the toes bordered by a skin.
1575Turberv. Falconrie 346 Of the swelling in a Hawkes foote, which we tearme the pin, or *pin Goute. Ibid. 346 Make plaisters thereof, and bestowe them on the pinnegoute.
1847Californian (San Francisco) 10 July 3/1 Quality of Pasture—Bunch Grass; Clover; Wild Oats and *Pin Grass, all in abundance. 1888[see alfilaria]. 1914C. F. Saunders With Flowers & Trees in Calif. iii. 55 Still another wild pasture-plant..is the stork's-bill.., commonly known as pingrass or filaree. 1949E. L. Palmer Fieldbk. Nat. Hist. 241/3 Common names [of Erodium cicutarium] include wild musk, pin clover, pin grass, pinweed and heron's bill, mostly based on character of fruit. 1958R. C. Rollins Fernald & Kinsey's Edible Wild Plants Eastern N. Amer. (ed. 2) 259 Storksbill, Pin-grass, Erodium cicutarium.
1825Cobden in Morley Life i. (1903) 8 Black and purple and *pin grounds.
1961R. Longrigg Daughters of Mulberry i. 8 Giggles Ballantyne..teetered unhappily on tall *pin heels.
1960C. Storr Marianne & Mark iv. 54 A pair of tight *pinheeled patent-leather shoes. 1963Times 20 Feb. 14/7 We were joined by a girl in pointed pin-heeled shoes which soon put an end to her enthusiasm.
1940Chambers's Techn. Dict. 644/2 *Pin hinge. 1964W. L. Goodman Hist. Woodworking Tools ii. 53 This cupboard door, in a light-brown hardwood, appears to have been the right-hand leaf of a pair, as the pin hinge is slightly longer at the top.
1491Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 187 Item, ij elne sattin to lyne the cap of that cloyke, and to be a *pyn hwd.
1834D. Crockett Narr. Life 207 In this hunt every..little *pin-hook lawyer was engaged. 1840Southern Lit. Messenger VI. 386/2 Ellen used to fish there for minnoes with a pin-hook. 1897Outing (U.S.) XXX. 439 This fish ranks among the first victims of pin-hook wiles. 1970Country Life 17–24 Dec. 1199/1 Losing..a string of sausages to..a tramp with a pin-hook on a piece of string.
1942Sun (Baltimore) 23 Sept. 7/2 ‘*Pin hookers’, who make small purchases in auction markets and then resell them in the same markets also are exempt from price control. 1944Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch 5 Oct. 18 The fixation of prices this year is bad business for the time honored ‘pinhooker’, the man with relatively small operating capital who, during the more spacious days of tobacco selling when the auctioneer got the green light for a sale from wall to wall, bought tobacco when the market was low and held it until it was high, pocketing the difference. The prices this year are so narrow that the pinhooker's business has been practically squeezed out. 1949L. Rapport in B. A. Botkin Treas. S. Folklore iv. iii. 652 There's Carroll, Jones, and Mallory for the Big Three..buyers from the four large independents who are on this market, and seven or eight pinhookers. 1966Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. xlv. 19 The pinhooker will attach his sales tag to a lot of tobacco waiting to be received by the warehouse workers.
1886A. B. W. Kennedy Mech. of Machinery xii. 586 The efficiency of a *pin joint, or turning pair, is generally very much greater than that of a sliding pair. 1919Pippard & Pritchard Aeroplane Struct. x. 122 An important case occurs when..a pin-joint is made in an aeroplane spar at any place other than near one of the positions of the points of inflection. 1978J. E. Gordon Structures x. 205 The concentration of stress at the pin joints calls for a tough and ductile material, such as wrought iron.
1882Min. Proc. Inst. Civil Engin. LXIX. 111 Of a well-designed *pin-jointed structure, all the principal members must be connected directly with the pin. 1908E. S. Andrews Theory & Design of Struct. xvii. 508 Pin⁓jointed eye bars are not much used in this country for bridge work, and for roof work they are going out of use. 1974Nature 4 Jan. 77/2 It covers the treatment of pin⁓jointed frameworks, beams, circular sandwich plates, Michell's structural continua and plates loaded in their planes.
1862Illustr. Catal. Internat. Exhib., Industr. Dept., Brit. Div. II. No. 3600 A case with jointed *pin-leg, artificial human leg, and others. 1960S. Plath Colossus (1967) 39 The oracular ghost who dwindles on pin-legs.
1936Dylan Thomas Twenty-Five Poems 44 *Pin-legged on pole-hills with a black medusa By waste seas where the white bear quoted Virgil. 1939― Let. Mar. (1966) 226 The English poets now are such a pinlegged..crowd.
1946in D. de Carle Pract. Watch Repairing (prelim. advt.) The new *pin lever—seven jewels. 1962Which? June 165/1 In many cheaper watches, there is a pin-pallet (or pin lever) type of escapement, in which the pallets are hardened steel pins instead of jewels. 1976M. Cutmore Watch Collector's Handbk. ii. 70 In the pin-lever design the impulse pallets on the lever are replaced by steel pins... The escape-wheel teeth supply most of the lift and have steeply sloped faces.
1884Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl., *Pin Machine.
c1680Crys of London 36 in Bagford Ball. I. 116 Here's your old *Pin Man, a coming agen. 1878J. Inglis Sport & W. iv. 34 The pinmen are busy sorting their pins. 1934Dylan Thomas Let. 2 May (1966) 114 And I have, too, a violent desire to draw pin-men. 1953J. Masters Lotus & Wind i. 8 The engineer was little more than a pin man in the distance. 1965J. Wade Boy with Sling i. i. 11 He flicked at the ground..with a switch, drawing an elongated pinman. 1975Times Lit. Suppl. 7 Feb. 129/3 The movement of the train, and the view through its windows, reduce what Rhoda sees to a scene of pin-men moving awkwardly and senselessly through an unwelcoming landscape.
1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 189 *Pin-Mandrels..are made with a..Shank, to fit stiff into a round hole that is made in the Work that is to be Turned.
1835Ure Philos. Manuf. 304 The hardships which children have to endure in *pin-manufactories.
[1887T. B. Reed Hist. Old Eng. Letter Foundries 26 A more probable explanation seems to be that the head of a small screw or pin, used to fix the side⁓piece of the mould,..left its mark on the side of the types as they were cast.] 1888C. T. Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 100 *Pin mark.—This is the slight mark in the side of a type near the top of the shank made in casting by machinery. 1916Legros & Grant Typogr. Printing-Surfaces iii. 14 The pin-mark, or drag,..only occurs in certain machine-made type. 1922D. B. Updike Printing Types I. ii. 16 The pin-mark is an indentation on the upper part of the body, made by the pin in casting. 1951S. Jennett Making of Bks. ii. 34 The other [side], in foundry type, bears the pin-mark, or occasionally two pin-marks... The pin-mark is formed by the mechanism that ejects the type from the mould when it is cast.
1611Cotgr. s.v. Passer, Passe sans flux, not a *pinne matter. 1679Trails of White, etc. 36 Is it a pin matter whether there was such a Bill or no? 1766Complete Farmer s.v. Surveying, It is not a pin matter how rude or false the lines or angles be.
1885C. T. Davis Leather xxiii. (1897) 331 From the ‘soaks’ the skins are removed,..and placed..in the ‘*pin-mill’.
1967T. Keneally Bring Larks xxviii. 222 By the time he sighted the *pin-new East Indiaman, it had already ripped through the oyster-shell horizon far out to the south-east. 1976New Society 19 Feb. 373/1 A dozen girls sit in the toy department of a pin-new department store.
1813H. Muhlenberg Catal. Plantarum Americæ Septentrionalis 87 Swamp or *Pin Oak, (Quercus palustris). 1847D. Coyner Lost Trappers I. 23 The young trapper was relieved by the arrival of two of the company, one of whom climbed a pin-oak tree. 1857Yale Lit. Mag. XXII. 284 His head is as obtuse and spongy as the butt-end of a pin-oak rail. 1874J. W. Long Amer. Wild-fowl xvi. 197 Pin-oaks, whose tiny acorns are greedily sought for by mallards and sprig⁓tails. 1897Outing (U.S.) XXIX. 516/1 [Mallards] gather in the timbered sloughs and low swales bordering on the Mississippi, where the pin-oak and willow abound. 1941P. P. Pirone Maintenance of Shade & Ornamental Trees iv. 45 Pin oaks in alkaline soils often develop yellow or chlorotic leaves. 1975Country Life 16 Jan. 148/3 American woodland in the east..is composed largely of oak, not our oak, but the slim and lofty red oak, white oak, pin oak and chestnut oak.
1860E. Beckett Rudimentary Treat. Clocks (ed. 4) 103 *Pin Pallets. 1884F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 194 [The] Pin Pallet Escapement..used mostly in French Clocks, in which it is often placed in front of the dial. The pallets are formed of semi-circular jewels. 1903F. J. Garrard Watch Repairing x. 101 The ‘pin-pallet’ escapement..has round pins for pallets, and the inclines are on the scape teeth. 1946D. de Carle Pract. Watch Repairing vi. 55 Some designs of pin pallets are so made that the arms carrying the pallet pins can be bent quite easily. 1976M. Cutmore Watch Collector's Handbk. i. 47 The cheap watch had developed independently in Switzerland in the form which was eventually to become world⁓wide. Roscopf designed and produced a pin-pallet lever watch in 1867.
1673Marvell Reh. Transp. II. 170 His Sermon is extant..some Heads and Points of it I gave you..as a *Pinne-paper of your modern Orthodoxy. 1817Coleridge Biog. Lit. 209 The pin-papers, and stay-tapes, which might have been among the wares of his pack.
1942Ark Royal (Ministry of Information) 18/2 When a squadron is preparing for a reconnaissance, the ground staff bring the aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck... The ranging party..then take over and push the aircraft aft, assisted by a small ‘*pin party’ to spread and secure the wings. 1946J. Irving Royal Navalese 135 Pin party,..the working party, in a Carrier, which prepares aircraft on the flying deck for taking off.
1694Echard Plautus 164 Whole beds o' crabs, lobsters, oysters, *pinpatches, coral, muscles, and cockles. a1825Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Pin-patches, Pin-paunches, the small shell fish called periwinkles... They are commonly drawn out of their shells with a pin.
1893J. B. Johnson et al. Theory & Pract. Mod. Framed Struct. xxi. 338 The Lengths of Bearing or *Pin Plates are determined by the following considerations. 1968E. H. & C. N. Gaylord Struct. Engin. Handbk. vi. 71 Usually, a pin plate is assumed to transmit a fraction of the main member force proportional to its thickness.
c1866W. B. Dick Amer. Hoyle (ed. 3) 428 The game of *Pin Pool is played with two white balls and one red, together with five small wooden pins. 1900Ade Fables in Slang 16 The Local Editor..was playing Pin-Pool with the Superintendent. 1915B. Edwards in H. Dempsey Best of Bob Edwards (1975) v. 107 Men who blew all their money on whisky and pin pool. 1959in Halas & Manvell Technique Film Animation xxvi. 304 (heading) Pin screen animation. Ibid., The pin screen is designed for black-and-white films. 1976Oxf. Compan. Film 11/2 After watching L'Idée (1934) in production in 1932 he [sc. Alexandre Alexeïeff] experimented with animation techniques and invented the pin screen, a metal surface pierced by about five million tiny holes through which he pressed metal pins which, obliquely lit, created shadows with all possible gradations from black to white according to the length of pin protruding from the screen.
1866Routledge's Ev. Boy's Ann. 642 Driven into the ‘*pin-poppet’, the old name by which these curious cases were best known.
1502Privy Purse Exp. Eliz. of York (1830) 27 Item for *pyn powdre xij d.
1893E. E. Crowe With Thackeray in Amer. i. 11 Reflection made him think the onslaught harmless, and the sting in it only of the *pin-prod order.
1608T. Cocks Diary (1901) 35 Payde for a *pynne purse for my va[lentine] vs.
1875Knight Dict. Mech., *Pin-rack,..a frame placed on the deck of a vessel, and containing sheaves around which ropes may be worked, and belaying-pins around which they may be secured.
1877Stainer Organ ii. §24 Under the keys a series of pins are arranged on a piece of wood forming a *pin-rail. These pins fit easily into holes in the keys and prevent them from oscillating.
1926–7Army & Navy Stores Catal. 408b/3 Pochettes... *Pin seal leather, lined silk. 1934Times 29 Nov. 19/3 In black pinseal with the new short handles there is a useful bag with a triple frame. 1961[see billfold(er) s.v. bill n.3 11]. 1972J. Mosher Some would call it Adultery iii. xv. 139 Then he took a change purse from an inside pocket. It was black pinseal leather, opening with a snap. 1974Country Life 21 Nov. (Suppl.) 45 Pin seal wallet {pstlg}30.
1608H. Clapham Errour Right Hand 39 Tom Lace-seller and Abraham *Pin-seller.
1916H. M. Rideout Far Cry xi. 150 Like a *pin-setter in a bowling alley, Mace carefully planted his bottles upright on the floor. 1958Economist 20 Dec. 1085/1 In 1954 the American Machine & Foundry Company began large-scale production of an electronic automatic pin-setter, or pin spotter as it is also called. 1958Wall St. Jrnl. 9 Dec. 1/4 In the past seven years they've [sc. automatic pinboys have] taken over the pinsetting chores on all but a small minority of the existing lanes. 1964Economist 30 May 1024/3 The introduction of pin-setting machines that speeded the game. 1972Mainichi Daily News (Japan) 7 Nov. 6/4 The company signed a contract with Yungtay Engineering Co. of Taichung to export pin-setting machines for 100 bowling lanes.
1947W. de la Mare Coll. Stories for Children 60 He crinkled up his *pin-sharp eyes. 1978SLR Camera Aug. 4/1 (Advt.), Pinsharp projection from corner to corner.
1900Echo 12 June 3/4 Pick pockets and *pin-snatchers reaped a rich harvest.
1926Glasgow Herald 26 June 8 Their prowess as ‘par-beaters’ and ‘*pin-splitters’. 1961Partridge Dict. Slang Suppl. 1222/1 Pin-splitter... Since ca. 1935, predominantly a golf-shot dead on the pin. 1973Country Gentlemen's Mag. Mar. 181/1 Gents Pinsplitter Golf Clubs.
1894Daily News 28 Apr. 6/5 Single flowers scattered over a ‘*pin-spot’ ground. 1903Westm. Gaz. 12 Feb. 4/2 Many of them spotted, but with a regular pin-spot. 1947Gloss. Technical Theatr. Terms (Strand Electr. & Engin. Co.) 22 Pin spot, any spot lantern so adjusted that its maximum light is focussed into the smallest possible area. 1961A. Berkman Singers' Gloss. Show Business 7 Baby spot.., a small spotlight used for illuminating any small object on stage; often used for lighting just the face of the performer. (Also called pin-spot.)
1900Daily News 14 July 4/7 The little bolero coat is faced with white linen, *pin-spotted with cornflower blue.
1958*Pin-spotter [see pin-setter]. 1975Oxf. Compan. Sports & Games 90/2 Modern bowling centres, with automatic pin-spotters and score-indicators, have replaced the rough, tough alleys lit by kerosene lamps, which catered for saloon crowds in the early days of the twentieth century.
1947J. T. Marsh Introd. Textile Finishing i. 20 The beater untangles the matted pile, and the fabric then passes into the *pin stenter which is equipped with from eight to sixteen rotating cards. 1962― Self-Smoothing Fabrics xi. 171 Since the advent of the crease-resisting process, with its earlier emphasis on rayon fabric production, there has been a corresponding emphasis on pin stenters compared with the clip stenter.
1884Health Exhib. Catal. 118/1 A *Pin-sticking Machine, for sticking pins on paper.
1936A. M. Miall Everyday Embroidery Bk. viii. 74 Punch, Lace, *Pin or Turkey-stitch (it has all these names) is an open-work stitch which is sometimes used in rather elaborate broderie anglaise, or in cut-work..as an open-work filling for a flower or motif. 1948C. Christopher Compl. Bk. Embroidery viii. 185 Pin Stitch is used to applique motifs of self material on either wrong or right side of fabric. 1972B. Snook Creative Art of Embroidery 92 Pin stitch. This is used along a hem edge.
1960S. Plath Colossus (1967) 48 At the price of a *pin-stitched skin Fish-tailed girls purchase each white leg.
1935G. W. Fry Embroidery & Needlework viii. 188 As with hemstitching so with *pin stitching, the decorative effect may be obtained with nothing more than outlines.
1884Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl., *Pin Switch... The connections are made with pins or plugs, which give a rubbing or frictional contact when thrust into the holes on the board.
1562W. Bullein Bulwark Sicke Men 70 b, Did me neuer a *pinsworthe of pleasure.
1936Archit. Rev. LXXIX. 135/1 Under one of these, however, peeps out a gay little shop in bright green paint, full of *pin-tables, where one can lose one's money in proper Strand fashion. 1957Observer 20 Oct. 16/3 Entirely devoted to a single situation—pin-table saloon proprietors versus local councillor. 1973‘M. Underwood’ Reward for Defector ii. 13 Questions..were flashing through his mind like lights on a pin-table. 1977Irish Press 29 Sept. 16/1 (Advt.), Pool tables, pin tables, fruit machines, etc., on sharing basis.
1853Byrne Artisan's Handbk. 81 For cutting the facets, they are held in small hand-vises or *pin-tongs.
1825J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 521 That part of the stone pallets upon which the *pin teeth act. 1886Standard 15 Jan. 2/5 Its ‘pin’, or pointed, teeth had not developed.
1440–41Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 627 Pro j *pyntrase. 1536–7Ibid. 697, iij par. pyntracez.
1903Electr. World & Engin. 18 July 115 The pressure is admitted to or withdrawn from the piston by means of a *pin-valve.
1875Knight Dict. Mech., *Pin-vise,..a hand-vise for grasping small arbors and pins. 1884F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 196 Pin Vice..chiefly used as a holder for pins and small pieces of work while they are being filed.
1854Thoreau Walden xvii. (1886) 307 Golden-rods, *pinweeds, and graceful wild grasses.
1890Cent. Dict., The *pin-winged doves are pigeons of the genus æchmoptila..of Texas and Mexico.
1896A. Morrison Child of the Jago 165 Her wedding-ring, worn to *pin-wire.
1573Tusser Husb. xvii. (1878) 38 And seasoned timber for *pinwood to haue.
1910K. Winslow Prevention & Treatm. Dis. Domestic Animals 191 Oxyuris, Whip, Thread or *Pin Worm. 1933Jrnl. Econ. Entomol. XXVI. 138 In California, the Pin Worm [sc. an insect larva] has done much damage to tomatoes. 1961E. R. & G. A. Noble Parasitol. vi. 312 Oxyuris equi is the common pinworm in the cecum and colon of horses. Ibid. 317 Enterobius vermicularis is the pinworm or seat⁓worm of man. 1974M. C. Gerald Pharmacol. ii. 35 Piperazine (Antepar) and chloroquine..have been quite effective in the cure of..pinworm, and malaria, respectively.
▪ II. pin, n.2 local.
[Origin obscure: perh. connected with pin v. II.]
The middle place in a tandem team of three horses. Hence pin-bullock Austral., one of the pair of bullocks in a team nearest the wagon; pin-horse: see quots.
1877N.W. Linc. Gloss., Pin-horse, the middle horse in a team. 1881G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk., Pin, the middle place for a horse, between the shafter and the leader in a team of three. Pin-horse. 1886Elworthy W. Som. Word-bk., Pin, Pin-horse. [Widely prevalent in rural use. In E.D.D. from N. Yorksh. to Somerset.] 1936I. L. Idriess Cattle King viii. 68 They call the two polers the pin bullocks, because they swing the turntable of the wagon! 1959H. P. Tritton Time means Tucker 36 A bullock-team is made up in four parts: polers, pin, body and leaders... The pin-bullocks take the pull.
▪ III. pin, n.3
[f. pin v.1 5.]
1. Chess. The act of pinning, the fact of being pinned.
1868Selkirk Bk. Chess 72 Removing his Queen to obviate the ‘pin’. 1911A. C. White First Steps Classification Two-Movers 73 The Black King moves into a triple pin, which is the feature of the problem. 1932Times Lit. Suppl. 8 Dec. 948/3 Forcing the king where he wanted it, and then releasing the ‘pin’ paved the way for the threatened 26. 1976Daily Tel. 4 Dec. 11/6 Black thinks it time to bring his queen into play and finds an unexpectedly troublesome pin.
2. pin-fall Wrestling, a fall in which a wrestler must hold an opponent down for a specified length of time.
1907Daily Chron. 21 Dec. 9/5 These two..wrestlers having agreed to contest the best of three pin falls in the catch-as-catch-can style. 1976K. Bonfiglioli Something Nasty in Woodshed iv. 41 He helps the other chap back into the ring..then administers a fearsome forearm smash and the winning pinfall.
▪ IV. pin, v.1|pɪn|
Forms: see the n.
[In branch I., f. pin n.1 In branch II., perh. worn down from pind v., but blending with I. in the sense ‘fasten’: cf also pen v.1 1 and 2.]
I. To transfix, fix, attach, confine, with a pin.
1. trans. To fasten (things or parts of a thing together, or one thing to another) with one or more pins, pegs, or bolts (see pin n.1 1); to construct or repair by thus fastening the parts together; to make fast with a bolt, to bolt (a door, etc.). † to pin the basket: see basket n. 1 d.
13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 769 With a pyked palays, pyned ful þik. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xx. 296 Conscience..made pees porter to pynne [MS. B. penne] þe ȝates Of alle tale⁓tellers and tyterers in ydel. a1380Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. lii. 6 Cros, þou dost no trouþe, On a pillori my fruit to pinne. c1440Gesta Rom. lxxxvii. 409 (Add. MS.), I shall haspe the dore, and pynne it with a pynne. a1533Ld. Berners Huon cxvi. 411 No shyppe can depart hens without it be pynnyd with nayles of woode and not of Iron. 1579–80North Plutarch (1595) 750 Rafters or great peeces of tymber pinned together. 1663Gerbier Counsel 43 They pin down a planck. 1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 123 They pin it up with wooden Pins. 1875Carpentry & Join. 104 The mortices cut quite through and pinned with oak or ash pins. 1883Gilmour Mongols xxv. 301 The long rope, which is pinned down to the ground. 1884F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 143 The lever is pinned to the pallets.
fig.1727Swift State Irel. Wks. 1755 V. ii. 164 An act of navigation, to which we never consented, pinned down upon us. 1820Hazlitt Lect. Dram. Lit. 317 He is pinned down in more than one Review..as an exemplary warning.
2. a. To fasten with a pin (see pin n.1 3), or with a brooch, hairpin, or hat-pin; to attach with a pin or similar sharp-pointed instrument; to transfix with a pin; also with a lance or the like.
1423Jas. I Kingis Q. clxxx, At my beddis hed... I haue it faire pynnit vp. c1480Henryson Test. Cres. 423 Thy plesand lawn pinnit with goldin prene. 1530Palsgr. 658/1 Pynne your jacket togyther for taking of colde. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. ix. 36 His garment, nought but many ragged clouts, With thornes together pind and patched was. 1594Contention viii. Stage direction, Enter Dame Elnor Cobham bare-foote,..with a waxe candle in her hand, and verses written on her backe and pind on. 1617Moryson Itin. iii. 168 Gownes made with long traines, which are pinned vp in the house. 1701Lond. Gaz. No. 3725/4 Lost.., 3 Sheets of Paper made up in 3 Books, and pin'd in the middle. 1787F. Burney Diary 8 Nov., The wardrobe woman was pinning up the Queen's hair. 1838James Robber vi, She had a shawl of fine white lace pinned across her shoulders. 1852H. T. Stainton Entom. Comp. 74 The first object is to pin the insect. 1893Earl Dunmore Pamirs II. 1 Pinning out his entomological specimens.
b. Used with a person as object, in respect of clothes. Chiefly pass.
1483Caxton G. de la Tour C vij, Shall not this lady this day be pynned. 1610B. Jonson Alch. i. i, You went pinn'd vp. Mod. Come and I'll pin you.
c. To spread out (dough or paste) with a rolling-pin.
1889R. Wells Pastrycook & Confect. Guide 39 Pin them out not too thick, and cut them into four.
d. Austral. slang. To ‘do down’, to cause trouble for (someone). (See also quot. 1941.)
1934C. Stead Seven Poor Men of Sydney iv. 122 A poor man..never 'as anything but a poor, miserable, wretched, untidy, un'appy life. They don't let 'im even be honest or 'ave a friend, if some one wants to pin 'im. 1941Baker Dict. Austral. Slang 54 To pin someone, to have someone ‘set’, to have a grudge against a person.
e. In phrases to pin someone's ears back (orig. U.S.), to chastise, to rebuke; to pin one's ears back, to listen attentively.
In quot. 1977 ‘lugholes’ is colloquially substituted for ‘ears’.
1941H. L. Ickes Diary 22 June (1954) III. 546 It certainly was intended to pin my ears back. 1949Wodehouse Uncle Dynamite ix. 160 His manner that of a man who has had his ears pinned back. 1961Partridge Dict. Slang Suppl. 1222/1 Pin back your ears or pin your ears back, listen carefully. 1962N. Streatfeild Apple Bough xi. 146 I'd get my ears pinned back if I tried to cut down his practice time. 1966‘L. Black’ Bait iii. 33, I shall keep eyes open. And ears pinned back. 1977D. Francis Risk xvi. 12 Well, mate, pin back your lugholes. That boat you were on was built at Lymington.
3. Building.
†a. Formerly sometimes = underpin.
†b. To face with stone, marble, etc.
c. To fill in the joints of masonry with chips of stone; to fill up the interstices with small stones: cf. pinning vbl. n. 2 a.
1427Rec. St. Mary at Hill 65, ij masouns to pynne þe same hous. 1499–1500Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 656 Reparaciones. In pynnyng, Rakyng, et poyntyng. 1546Langley Pol. Verg. De Invent. iii. v. 71 Mamurra a Knight that was Master of July Caesar's woorkes in Fraunce pinned first the Walles of his house wyth broken marble. 1589Rider Bibl. Schol., To Pin an house under the grounsile, substruo. 1824Mactaggart Gallovid. Encycl. (1876) 191 He didna batter, line, and pin, To please the e'e.
4. fig.
a. To attach firmly to a person, or ostentatiously to or on his sleeve: to make absolutely dependent or contingent on a person or thing; now rare. Also, to fasten or fix (anything objectionable) on a person or thing; to append, affix, tack on.
1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 109 Alas, fond foole, art thou so pinned to their sleeues, yat thou regardest more their babble then thine owne blisse? 1583Golding Calvin on Deut. cxxxi. 803 Was God pinned on Balaams sleeue? Was he bounde to him? 1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 321 This Gallant pins his Wenches on his sleeue. 1590Greene Mourn. Garm. (1616) 33 What is it for mee to pinne a fayre meacocke and a witty milkesop on my sleeue? 1626Middleton Women Beware Wom. iii. i. 297 You were pleas'd of late to pin an error on me. 1627E. F. Hist. Edw. II (1680) 35 Pinn'd to the mutability of popular Faction. 1639Fuller Holy War ii. xxv. (1840) 81 He made himself absolute master of all orders, pinning them on himself by an immediate dependence. 1660F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 97 They wholly pin themselves upon the advice of those Magitians. 1710Tatler No. 219 ⁋1 A Couple of professed Wits, who..had thought fit to pin themselves upon a Gentleman. 1819Shelley Cenci i. iii. 16 You seem too light of heart..To act the deeds that rumour pins on you. 1841Lytton Nt. & Morn. ii. iv, I might pin my fate to yours. 1924‘W. Fabian’ Sailors' Wives 34 Dorrisdale credits me with at least three [lovers], but they've never been able to pin it on me with anyone. 1942E. Paul Narrow St. xxi. 169 As usual, when anything sinister happened, his enemies tried to pin everything on Caillaux, who cleared himself promptly. 1966Listener 3 Nov. 652/3 Medical research workers have been suspicious that some difficult and resistant diseases..are associated with these same PPLO or mycoplasma, but nobody has been able to pin it on them. 1970N. Fleming Czech Point ii. 39 No doubt up till now he had never had to cope with a crime more heinous than skiing without due care and attention. He could have pinned that rap on the Australian girl in the PVC outfit any day he cared. 1977L. Meynell Hooky gets Wooden Spoon xii. 150 ‘Can the Law connect her with you?’ ‘..No, they couldn't pin anything on me.’
b. In phrases to pin one's salvation, soul, hope, knowledge, reputation, or the like, upon, on, to (a thing or person); now esp. to pin one's faith upon, on (a thing, or person, or his sleeve), to place entire or openly professed trust or belief in.
1583Babington Commandm. iv. (1637) 35, I would..never pin my everlasting estate in paine and blisse, upon so slender..perswasions. 1599Life Sir T. More in Wordsw. Eccl. Biog. (1853) II. 149, I never intended to pinne my soule to another mans sleeve. 1615Crooke Body of Man 318 It is not good..to pin a mans knowledge vpon any particular mans sleeue. 1649Bp. Reynolds Hosea vii. 139 No man is to pinne his own soule and salvation..upon the words of a man who may mislead him. 1651Cleveland Poems 44 I'le pin my faith on the Diurnalls sleeve. 1665J. Webb Stone-Heng (1725) 22 Mr. Jones..much less expected, that any Man should pin his Belief upon his [Jones's] Shoulders. 1677W. Hughes Man of Sin ii. i. 11 Tradition..deserveth rather nailing to the Pillory, than pinning Faith upon it. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, To pin one's Faith on another's Sleeve, or to take all upon Trust, for Gospel that he saies. 1712,1885[see faith n. 2]. 1828Lady Granville Lett. (1894) II. 19, I now pin my hopes on a meeting at Dieppe. 1857A. Mathews Tea-Table Talk I. 92 She pinned her faith upon a horseshoe nailed upon the outer gate. 1885S. Cox Expositions I. 4 Men who think for themselves, and pin their faith to no neighbour's sleeve.
5. transf.
a. To hold fast (a man or animal) in a spot so that he cannot get away; to hold down or against something by force; to seize and hold fast.
1740Fielding in Champion 1 Apr., When he is pinned down,..particularly by one large Mastiff, I do not perceive that Readiness to relieve him which hath been formerly shewn. 1814P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 95 [The buck] could only reach the third field, where Tiger pinned him in the hedgerow. 1816Scott Antiq. xliii, Forth bolts the operative brother to pin like a bull-dog. 1840–70D. P. Blaine Encycl. Rur. Sports §437 The dog will not only seize him [a bull] by the nose, but will cling to his hold till the bull stands still; and this is termed pinning the bull. 1859Reeve Brittany 238 While I pinned his arms from behind, Mr. Taylor seized his whip. 1888Burgon Lives 12 Gd. Men II. v. 66 He caught me by my elbows, and pinned me up against the wall..so that I could not stir. 1945Sun (Baltimore) 21 Feb. 1/7 (heading) 4th Division pinned down by mortar fire 17 hours. 1970Globe & Mail (Toronto) 25 Sept. 8/9 The Ambassador and 24 members of his staff..were pinned down in the Embassy since the fighting started. 1977Times 17 Jan. 7/1 Underwood did his usual job pinning the batsmen down with geometrical control.
b. Chess. To confine a piece to a spot, to prevent it from being moved, absolutely, or without serious loss of material.
1745Stamma Chess 112 Look first whether your Adversary cannot pin that Piece down. 1841Walker Chess 15 The Bishop is able in certain cases to confine and pin the Knight, until the King or some other piece comes up and takes him. 1868Selkirk Bk. Chess 73 White would then pin the Rook by Queen to Queen's 3rd.
c. slang. To seize.
1768Earl of Carlisle in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1843) II. 340, I am sure they intended to pin my money.
6. fig.
a. To hold or bind (a person) strictly to a promise, course of action, etc.: often with down.
1710Prideaux Orig. Tithes ii. 74 The Law of God..doth not absolutely pin us down to the manner of doing it. 1822W. Irving Braceb. Hall xxvi, One of those pestilent fellows that pin a man down to facts. 1894Tyndall in Pop. Sci. Monthly XLIV. 507, I am pinned this year by the meeting of the British Association at Liverpool.
b. With down. To manœuvre (a person) into a position where evasion is impossible.
1904Ade True Bills 40 Horace tried to side-step the Questions about Drinking and Smoking, but Uncle pinned him down. 1914‘High Jinks, Jr.’ Choice Slang 16 (To) pin down, to corner.
c. With down. To define, evaluate, isolate; to restrict to.
1951M. McLuhan Mech. Bride (1967) 137/1 The kind of spectator participation in baseball..would be hard to pin down. 1955Times 26 July 8/3 It would never be possible to pin down the cause of death to radiation, he added. 1963T. Parker Unknown Citizen v. 139 There was obviously a good deal more to it underneath, which you could never pin down. 1965Listener 2 Dec. 920/2 This symbolism is far more difficult to pin down than Rublowsky seems to suppose. 1973Times 27 Apr. 1/8 Attempts to pin down the origin of the disease were inconclusive.
7. To set or stud with pins for ornament.
1688[see pinned ppl. a. 2]. 1713Lond. Gaz. No. 5155/4 The out-side Case Shagreen,..pinn'd with Gold Pins.
8. To make a small hole as with a pin.
a. Sc. To break (a pane of glass) by throwing a stone so as to make a small hole.
b. To drill (a hole).
1824Scott Redgauntlet let. i, And who taught me to smoke a cobbler, pin a losen, head a bicker..? 1897Daily News 7 June 2/3 Drills shrieking shrill accompaniment to the hum of whirring machinery as they pinned rivet-holes in metal plates.
9. To clog (a file): said of particles adhering so firmly to the teeth of a file that they have to be picked out with a piece of steel wire.
1890in Cent. Dict.
II. To confine within bounds: cf. pind v.
10. a. To enclose by or as by means of bolts or bars; to confine within a space or enclosure; to hem in, to shut up; spec. to put in a pinfold, impound (a beast).
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. v. 127, I..Putte hem in a pressour and pinnede hem þer-Inne. 1423Coventry Leet-bk. 43 Þer schall noo beestys be pynnyd at the comen pynfold by the comien seriante. c1440Promp. Parv. 400/1 Pynnyn, or put yn a pynfold, intrudo. 1513Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 2632 To be pynned and punysshed for theyr trespace. 1590Webbe Trav. (Arb.) 27, I found two thousand Christians pind vp in ston wals lockt fast in yron chaines. 1630L. Rowzee Qveenes Welles iii. (1632) 16 To contract and pin up the Sea into narrower limits, by..dikes [etc.]. 1674–91Ray Collect. Words 17 A Coop is generally used for a Vessel or place to pin up or enclose any thing. 1824Byron Juan xv. xxvi, Pinn'd like a flock, and fleeced too in their fold.
b. Draughts (and similar games). See quots.
1688R. Holme Armoury iii. xvi. (Roxb.) 68/1 The play is, by so many geese to pinne the fox, that he cannot stirre one hole further. 1870Hardy Mod. Hoyle, Draughts 107 The object..is to capture all your adversary's men, or to ‘pin’ them, or hem them in so that they cannot be moved.
†11. fig. To ‘shut up’, confine, restrict. Obs.
a1400Lydg. Chorle & Birde 89 To be shette vp and pynned vnder drede, No thyng acordeth vnto my nature. 1584Fenner Def. Ministers (1587) 9 Howe hath he..pinned vp her authoritie, when he sought to enlarge it? 1638Junius Paint. Ancients 314 To have his phantasie pinned up within the narrow compass of a poor..invention.
III. 12. Comb., as pin-faith a., that ‘pins one's faith’ on something (see 4 b), implicitly believing or credulous.
1800A. Seward Lett. (1811) V. 316 The pin-faith multitude, which never thinks for itself.
▪ V. pin, v.2 (U.S.),
variant form of peen v.
1875Knight Dict. Mech., Pin...11. To swage by striking with the peen of a hammer; as splaying an edge of an iron hoop to give it the flare corresponding to that of the cask. |