pinprickingn.
/ˈpɪnprɪkɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈpɪnˌprɪkɪŋ/ 1. A pinprick; the action of pricking with a pin; (also) the sensation of being pricked.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > irritation > [noun] > action of irritating > in minor way
pinpricking1706
nagging1855
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > [noun] > by boring, piercing, or perforating > with sharp-pointed instrument > pricking
pointurea1393
puncturea1400
pouncingc1410
punction?a1425
pointing1440
pinpricking1706
acupuncture1875
pinholing1879
1706 J. Stevens tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote (ed. 2) II. lxx. 408 Sleep o'God's Name..if thy Twitching, Pinching, and Pin-pricking will give thee leave.
1755 T. Smollett tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote II. iv. xvi. 439 A dish of twitches, pinches and pin-prickings.
1886 Lafayette (Pa.) Advertiser 4 Dec. 1/2 Betty's talk teased her like pin prickings on an already nettled surface.
1899 Stevens Point (Wisconsin) Daily Jrnl. 11 Nov. She is perfectly oblivious to pin pricking anywhere on her body.
1949 M. L. Starkey Devil in Massachusetts 285 A burning and twitching in the extremities which reminded him..of the witches' ‘pinpricking’ described by the afflicted children of 1692.
1980 Q. Rev. Biol. 55 147/2 Such stimuli as electrical shocks and pin-pricking are known to induce precocious pupation of some insects.
2003 Irish Voice (Nexis) 23 Sept. 6 She is even tolerant..of all the pinpricking and the bruises she sustains from the 1,200 [insulin] shots she has received.
2. figurative. A minor misfortune or irritation; petty and persistent goading or criticism.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > state of annoyance or vexation > [noun] > petty annoyance
botheration1797
potherment1855
pinpricking1864
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > [noun] > a print > art of making > specific type
pinpricking1864
1864 G. Hamilton Country Living & Country Thinking 347 An incessant pin-pricking is perhaps harder to bear than the swift-descending axe.
1927 Daily Express 5 Dec. 1/4 The move is interpreted..as a step forward to stop the ‘pin-pricking’ that has been going on between the two countries.
1972 Times 26 June 8/5 Much authentic [A.J.P.] Taylor—pinpricking, bubble-bursting.
2004 Evening Standard (Palmerston North, N.Z.) (Nexis) 10 July 3 He said the problem was ‘pin pricking’ on both sides of the dispute—governance and management.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
pinprickingadj.
/ˈpɪnprɪkɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈpɪnˌprɪkɪŋ/ That pricks like a pin; causing petty annoyance, irritating.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > irritation > [adjective] > irritating > in minor way
pinpricking1881
1881 R. C. Praed Policy & Passion II. 270 Small slight, pinpricking insults.
1924 P. G. Wodehouse Bill the Conqueror 84 The authorities of the Underground Railway increased his generous wrath by their pin-pricking policy of demanding from him another penny for having allowed his reverie to carry him on..farther than the scope of his ticket.
1958 B. Hamilton Too Much of Water v. 119 He had..continued, in a small pin-pricking way, to belittle and snub Patricia Odell.
2002 Sunday Star-Times (Auckland) (Nexis) 17 Mar. (Sport section) 4 Pinpricking rulings by their rugby counterparts have been spoiling these matches as a spectacle for the fans and making them less enjoyable for the players.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1706adj.1881