pinchingn.
/ˈpɪn(t)ʃɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈpɪn(t)ʃɪŋ/ 1.
a. The action or process of compression between two surfaces, esp. between a finger and thumb; nipping, squeezing, pressure. Frequently with in, up, off.In quot. c1230 with reference to the practice of constricting the waist by means of a girdle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > pressing, pressure, or squeezing > [noun] > nipping or pinching
pinchingc1230
nipping1381
niping1440
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 103 Her to falleð of ueil of heaued clað. of euch oðer clað. to ouegart acemunge oðer in heowunge. oðer ipinchunge. gurdlesant gurdunge o dameiseles wise.
a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) 8253 (MED) Thys glouys bynde me so sore That I may weryn hem no more With her pynchyng to be bounde, Myn handys ben so tendre.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. xv. sig. Y7 As I haue seene one that was sick of a sleeping disease, could not be made wake, but with pinching of him.
1604 J. Marston Malcontent ii. iv. sig. D2 There cannot be an vglier thing to see then an ould woman, from which, ô pruning, pinching, and painting, deliuer all sweete beauties.
1692 R. L'Estrange Fables ccxlv. 213 This Bull..that ran Tearing Mad for the Pinching of a Mouse.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Pinching, in the Manage, is when, the Horse standing, the Rider holds him fast with the Bridle-hand, and applies the Spurs just to the Hairs of his Sides, without pricking him.
1790 W. Beckford Descr. Acct. Island Jamaica II. 167 The mule that is soon to see the trammels of the mill, or the pinchings of the crook.
1823 J. Badcock Domest. Amusem. 113 Repeated pinchings, left the patient in comparative ease.
1876 E. R. Lankester tr. E. Haeckel Hist. Creation I. viii. 186 A pinching in takes place, contracting the middle of the globule.
1900 Science 21 Dec. 941/2 Reproduction of the Protozoa is accomplished either by their division into two or more individuals of equal size or by the pinching off of small daughter animals from a larger mother.
1961 J. Stubblefield Davies's Introd. Palaeontol. (ed. 3) i. 9 In many brachiopods it results in a pinching-up or median fold on the dorsal valve, and a depression or sinus on the ventral.
1993 N.Y. Times Mag. 29 Aug. 38/1 Twenty years ago at parties, I'd see people doing much more than he's being accused of... The pinching, touching, feeling was considered to be friendly, not harassing.
b. concrete. A thing which is pinched or nipped off. rare.
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the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > refuse or rubbish > [noun] > refuse part of anything > cut, broken, or fallen off
paring1314
chipping?c1400
parurec1400
pare?a1425
offals1538
off-shaving1565
clipping1579
peeling1598
pinching1688
whittling1854
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 89/2 Twitchings, ends of Horse-shooe Nails cut off. Pinchings, because pinched and writhen off from the out side of the hoof with the Pincers.
2000 Chicago Sun-Times (Nexis) 31 May (Food section) 4 Pinch back young plants to encourage bushiness, and add the pinchings to salads or eggs.
c. Horticulture. The action of removing or shortening (a bud, leaf, shoot, etc.), by nipping it off. Now frequently with out. Cf. pinch v. 7.
ΚΠ
1693 J. Evelyn tr. J. de La Quintinie Compl. Gard'ner i. i. iii. 10 Besides the Pruning..we sometimes perform another Operation which we call Pinching..: The Effect of this Pinching is to hinder the Branches from growing too thick.
1706 G. London & H. Wise Retir'd Gard'ner I. ii. v The pinching of Peach-trees is a sort of Pruning, which is done by the Nails to Three or Four Eyes upon a new tender Shoot.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Castrating..in speaking of melons and cucumbers..signifies the same with pruning or pinching.
1861 Amer. Agriculturist July 196/1 Late pinching produces a late growth, which is full of crude sap when cold weather comes on. Such plants winter-kill badly.
1951 New Biol. 11 50 Many a garden crop of beans..has been saved from the devastating ‘black-fly’ by early pinching-out of the growing tips.
1988 Gardening from Which? Aug. 271/4 Pinching out can be left until September.
1993 Horticulture Oct. 60/3 Pinching generally produces more compact asters, but should never be done after early summer since developing flowers may be scarified.
2. † b. Deprivation, poverty; famine. Obsolete.
a. The sensation caused by pinching or gripping; a painful pressure; esp. the feeling of hunger.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > pain > types of pain > [noun] > pinching or pressure
pinchinga1413
tension1541
wringing1606
tensity1658
girdle-sensation1885
girdle-pains1897
a1413 in J. Norri Names of Sicknesses in Eng. 1400–1550 (1992) 117 Pynchyng & prikkyng & mordicacioun..as þouȝ þere were þornys or nedelis pynchyng.
1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) v. xxxiii. sig. ivv/2 A lityl pryckyng other pinching in þe brest within is more sore than a grete wounde in þe arme.
1631 tr. J. Ghesel Rule of Health sig. B3 I have a present remedy against all wind and paines or pinching in the belly.
1682 A. Behn False Count v. i. 56 To have sav'd the pinching of his Gullet he wou'd have been a Cuckold.
1749 Allen's Synopsis Medicinae (ed. 3) II. 346 Constant Vomiting, painful Pinchings of the Gut, bloody Stools [etc.].
1790 J. C. Smyth in Med. Communications 2 518 Patients have complained of slight griping, or pinching in their bowels.
1854 Mountain Democrat (Placerville, Calif.) 6 May 2/1 You who have felt the keen pinching of hunger, and wept over the scantily sodded graves of dead human passions.
2003 Chattanooga (Tennessee) Times Free Press (Nexis) 26 Feb. d2 He worked out all winter but had to stop throwing last week when he felt pinching in the back of his shoulder.
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the mind > possession > poverty > [noun]
waedlec888
wanspeedc893
wanea1100
wandrethc1175
miseasea1200
povertya1225
lowness?c1225
needc1225
orcostc1225
poorness?a1300
unwealtha1300
defaultc1300
porailc1325
straitnessa1340
poorhead1340
mischiefa1375
miseasetya1382
needinessa1382
misterc1385
indigencec1386
scarcitya1387
noughtc1400
scantnessc1400
necessity?1406
penurya1425
povertnessa1434
exilitya1439
wantc1450
scarcenessc1475
needinga1500
povertiesa1500
penurity?a1505
poortith?a1513
debility1525
tenuity1535
leanness1550
lack1555
Needham1577
inopy1581
pinching1587
dispurveyance1590
egency1600
macritude1623
penuriousness1630
indigency1631
needihood1648
necessitousness1650
egestuosity1656
straitened circumstancesa1766
unopulence1796
Queer Street1811
lowliness1834
breadlessness1860
unwealthiness1886
out-of-elbowness1890
secondary poverty1901
Short Street1920
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. Contin. 1588/2 That other needfull vittels shall..grow to excessiue prices, to the pinching of the poorer sort.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Taquinerie, sordide miserie,..base pinching.
1780 J. Brett tr. B. J. Feijóo y Montenegro Ess. I. 98 Such as possess a moderate income, and can go through life, without experiencing the pinchings of [poverty].
1861 Weekly Standard (Raleigh, N. Carolina) 27 Nov. 4 The pale pinchings of famine will make thousands of honest Southern bosoms quiver with..suffering.
3. Parsimony, stinginess; scrimping; the application of economies.
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the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [noun]
fastship?c1225
scarcenessa1300
scarcity1340
niggardyc1390
nithingheada1400
scarcehead1420
nigonryc1430
niggardship?a1439
pinching1440
straitheadc1450
straitnessc1460
niggard cheap1463
niggardnessc1487
nigonshipa1500
niggardise1502
niggishness1519
niggardliness1556
parsimony1561
illiberality1581
nearness1584
tenacity1586
Euclionism1599
paring1607
servilitya1610
niggeralitya1612
scanting1625
scant-handednessa1627
closefistedness1631
niggardess1632
close-handedness1646
strait-handedness1649
penury1651
unbountifulness1660
parsimoniousness1671
penuriousness1672
stinginess1682
closeness1712
illiberalness1727
meanness1755
cheeseparing1834
scrimping1835
churlishness1846
screwing1848
skinflintism1853
screwiness1856
flint-paring1860
skinflintiness1861
scrimp1864
flint-skinning1873
penny-pinching1895
skimping1898
tight-fistedness1975
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 400 Pynchynge (or nyggardshepe, supra), tenacitas.
1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour iii. xxi. sig. fiv Moche pinchyng and nygardshyppe of meate and drinke.
1559 J. Aylmer Harborowe sig. P1 These Romaines..did..bring in their mony and goodes, without hinching or pinching, to reliefe the charges of their common welth.
1621 T. W. tr. S. Goulart Wise Vieillard 73 Your rauennous niggardship, and base pinching.
1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 1st Bk. Wks. iv. 23 There should be no want nor pinching for any thing.
1700 T. D'Urfey Famous Hist. Rise & Fall Massaniello i. v. i. 47 We'll think no more of the sneaking and pinching of our former days, but hug Fortune, and take Pleasure in by Belly-fulls.
1862 C. M. Yonge Countess Kate ii. 18 There would not be..so much pinching in the housekeeping.
1878 Indiana (Pa.) Democrat 26 Dec. The fruits Of pinching, saving, and a trial Of really Spartan self-denial.
1969 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 2 Jan. 3/3 A dense account of..lodging houses, pinching and saving, growing affluence, to the final years.
1996 Money (Nexis) Oct. 94 Saving $1,000 a month hasn't felt like pinching at all... We don't deprive ourselves.
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the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > criticism > [noun] > captious
plitchinga1400
carpingc1400
cavillation1532
pinching1532
nibbling?1577
Zoilism1609
carp1618
snagging1642
find-faulting1654
word-catching1713
pickthanking1861
kvetchingc1950
nitpicking1951
1532 L. Cox Art or Crafte Rhetoryke sig. B.iiii By pynchyng and blamyng of our aduersarie.
ΚΠ
1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (ed. 8) 165 Pinching is the operation of moving a gun, or mortar by small heaves of the handspike.
6. Mining and Geology. With out. The condition of a vein or deposit of ore, or a stratum, which is gradually thinning out to the point of extinction; the action of running out. Cf. pinch v. 14c, pinch-out n.
ΚΠ
1880 ‘Erro’ Squattermania 183 He talked largely about the direction of the compass in which the reefs ran, their ‘pinching out and making’ again.., etc.
1903 Westm. Gaz. 17 June 9/1 The pinching out of the reef in the Chicago level.
1947 Bull. Amer. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists 31 1869 Marine-onlap is..used to describe the regular progressive pinching-out of marine strata above an unconformity..in such a way that the younger beds extend farther landward than do the older beds which lie beneath.
2001 Marine Geol. 175 183 (title) Seaward pinching out and internal stratigraphy of the gironde incised valley.
7. Nautical. Sailing or steering close to the wind, or closer than is safe. Cf. luffing n. at luff v. Derivatives and pinch v. 11b.
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society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > use of wind > [noun] > beating against the wind > sailing too close to wind
pinching1958
1958 J. Fisher et al. Sailing i. 6 Some people, particularly when racing, are so anxious to press on against the wind that they perpetually luff up too far—a fault which is known as ‘pinching’.
1965 E. A. Pearson Lure of Spring ii. 55 The jib is generally the first to show signs of pinching; it will flutter at the luff.
1987 Sci. Amer. Aug. 27/2 By pinching, or steering closer to the true wind, the yachtsman can shorten the distance through the water.
Compounds
pinching bar n. now rare = pinchbar n. at pinch- comb. form .
ΚΠ
1815 I. Landmann Treat. Mines 43 The excavation of the ground is begun by introducing horizontally above the lintel of the first frame the pinching bar, to make room for putting in a plank chamfered at the end.
1867 Sci. Amer. 7 Dec. 363/1 The method of holding the two ends of the cord forming the sheaf-band, by means of pinching bars placed at a short distance from each other.
1994 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 1 Nov. 172/1 Expandable cylindrical chuck for a coiler or uncoiler..comprising..(g) a pinching bar connected to said chuck and adapted to perform a crosswise movement under control of said driving shaft.
pinching bug n. U.S. = pinch bug n.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Lamellicornia Scarabaeoidea > family Lucanidae (stag-beetles) > member of genus Lucanus (stag-beetle)
bull-fly1585
hornet1585
stag-fly1634
hartshorn beetle1658
flying hart1676
stag-beetle1681
flying stag1765
pinching bug1850
pinch bug1856
1850 L. H. Garrard Wah-to-Yah xix. 253 Noah was so hurried to git the yelaphants, pinchin bugs, an' sich varment aboard.
1928 C. L. Metcalf & W. P. Flint Destructive & Useful Insects i. 16 A certain amount of pain may result from mere mechanical injury by insects as when a boy finds a ‘pinching bug’ for the first time.
1999 New Yorker 8 Mar. 51/2 A lone half-wit teen-ager was corralling ‘pinching’ bugs and dropping them in a five-gallon bucket of sand.
pinching iron n. †(a) pincers, tweezers (obsolete); (b) in plural curling tongs (now historical).
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society > occupation and work > equipment > clutching or gripping equipment > [noun] > tongs or pincers
tongsc725
tongsc890
pinsons1356
turkis1390
pincersa1400
twitches?a1425
pinching iron1519
pincette?1533
spinsers1539
pincher1573
twitcher1573
tenailles1597
quitch1600
tenalia1603
forceps1634
vellicle1676
snapdragon1833
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > implements used in styling the hair > [noun] > curling implement
crisping-iron?a1400
bodkin1580
curling-bodkin1610
curling-iron1632
curling-tongs1763
crisping-tongs1773
pinching iron1789
tongs1843
crumpling-irons1854
roulette1860
curler1887
waver1895
permanent waver1916
wand1962
1519 W. Horman Vulgaria xviii. f. 169v They..plucke out theyr hearis with pynchynge yrons.
a1642 J. Suckling Goblins iii. 31 in Fragmenta Aurea (1646) Bring forth the newest wrack, and flaming pinching Irons.
1789 H. L. Piozzi Observ. Journey France I. 277 Heating the pinching-irons to curl my hair.
1966 J. Stevens Cox Illustr. Dict. Hairdressing & Wigmaking (at cited word) (1) Compressing the knotted part of wefted hair with a pinching iron. (2) Compressing papillotes with a pinching iron.
pinching nut n. = jam-nut n. at jam n.1 1c.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > nut > lock-nut
lock nut1855
pinching nut1857
1857 Sci. Amer. 1 Aug. 369/4 By adjusting the position of L by the pinching nut N, the rate at which ears [of corn] is consumed is easily controlled.
1997 Assembly (Nexis) Nov. 32 Stop and pinching nuts have plastic inserts that deform upon tightening to prevent loss of the nuts.
ΚΠ
1839 R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Engine Explained 105 The cap and pinching pin, by which the clutch is secured to it.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > equipment > [noun] > post in coursing
pinching post1704
1704 Dict. Rusticum sig. mm3/1 The Deer Runs straight till he comes beyond the Pinching Post, then that Dog that is nearest..wins the march.
a1844 P. Nicholson Encycl. Archit. (c1850) II. 250/1 Along the course were several posts; viz., the lawpost;..half-mile post; and pinching post.
pinching screw n. a screw which adjusts or fixes parts of a mechanism by compression.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > other parts > [noun] > adjusting parts
pinching screw1818
levelling-screw1849
needlea1884
1818 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 108 372 A metallic..rod..was fixed by two pinching screws at one end, but lay loose on a friction roller at the other.
1927 Times 26 Apr. 8/5 To alter clearance the threaded bolt carrying the ball is moved while a pinching screw is used to retain the position.
1974 J. F. Whitfield Electr. Craft Princ. I. xiii. 178 There is no need with these cables to seal the cable ends against the ingress of moisture, and the pinching screw is the most common type of terminal.
1991 Science (Nexis) 18 Oct. 406 Three pinching screws.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > glass-making equipment > [noun] > shaping equipment
ferret1662
punty1662
puntilion1665
pucellas1701
casting-table1728
marble1745
pinching tongs1765
borsella1823
punt1823
marver1832
pontil1832
punto1839
working tube1841
bullion-bar1852
blowing-iron1855
bullion-rod1862
blowpipec1865
pointel1865
gadget1868
casting-slaba1877
casting-plate1881
glass-cutter1881
sand core1894
polissoir1897
pontil rod1934
blowing-machine1940
blowing-pipe-
blowing-tube-
1765 Caledonian Mercury 28 Oct. 513/2 Then Monsieur le frizeur de la teté having made his appearance, Spindleshanks submits his head-piece (such as it is) to the dominion of the pinching tongs for an hour,..till it just resembles a cabbage stock, bound about with two or three strings of sausages.
1811 M. E. Rundell New Family Receipt Bk. (new ed.) vi. 63 Having heated a pair of fire tongs, or hair-dressers' pinching tongs, of a moderate warmth, press with them the two bags.
1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Pinching-tongs (Glass making), used for making chandelier drops, etc. Each jaw of the tongs carries a die, between which a lump of glass heated to plasticity is compressed.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
pinchingadj.adv.
/ˈpɪn(t)ʃɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈpɪn(t)ʃɪŋ/ A. adj.† 3. † 4. Music. Designating notes that, by stronger pressure of breath, are an octave higher than normally produced on a wind instrument. Obsolete. rare.
1. Stinting, sparing; that drives a hard bargain; niggardly, grudging.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [adjective]
gnedec900
gripplea1000
fastOE
narrow-hearteda1200
narrow?c1225
straitc1290
chinchc1300
nithinga1325
scarcec1330
clama1340
hard1340
scantc1366
sparingc1386
niggardc1400
chinchy?1406
retentivea1450
niggardousa1492
niggish1519
unliberal1533
pinching1548
dry1552
nigh1555
niggardly1560
churlish1566
squeamish1566
niggardish1567
niggard-like1567
holding1569
spare1577
handfast1578
envious1580
close-handed1585
hard-handed1587
curmudgeonly1590
parsimonious?1591
costive1594
hidebound1598
penny-pinching1600
penurious1600
strait-handed1600
club-fisted1601
dry-fisted1604
fast-handed1605
fast-fingered1607
close-fisted1608
near1611
scanting1613
carkingc1620
illiberal1623
clutch-fisteda1634
hideboundeda1640
clutch-fista1643
clunch-fisted1644
unbounteous1645
hard-fisted1646
purse-bound1652
close1654
stingy1659
tenacious1676
scanty1692
sneaking1696
gripe-handed1698
narrow-souled1699
niggardling1704
snippy1727
unindulgent1742
shabby1766
neargoinga1774
cheesemongering1781
split-farthing1787
save-all1788
picked1790
iron-fisted1794
unhandsome1800
scaly1803
nearbegoing1805
tight1805
nippit1808
nipcheese1819
cumin-splitting1822
partan-handed1823
scrimping1823
scrumptious1823
scrimpy1825
meanly1827
skinny1833
pinchfisted1837
mean1840
tight-fisted1843
screwy1844
stinty1849
cheeseparing1857
skinflinty1886
mouly1904
mingy1911
cheapskate1912
picey1937
tight-assed1961
chintzy1964
tightwad1976
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke vi. f. lxxviiv If ye haue bene pynchyng & niggishe [L. contracti parcique] towardes your neighbour, of the same sorte shall ye fele youre rewarde again to bee.
1583 G. Babington Very Fruitfull Expos. Commaundem. viii. 421 Of malice and spite, or by a pinching minde.
1599 J. Minsheu Percyvall's Dict. Spanish & Eng. at Recaton A pinching or hucking fellow in buying or selling.
1621 T. W. tr. S. Goulart Wise Vieillard 73 Sometimes shee is all for belly cheare and banquettings,..then shee is niggardly and pinching againe.
1693 C. Dryden tr. Juvenal in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires vii. 133 The bounteous Play'r out-gave the pinching Lord.
1724 J. Swift Reasons against Exam. Drugs ⁋6 Persons in pinching circumstances with numerous families of children.
1807 G. Crabbe Parish Reg. i, in Poems 51 Sparing not pinching, mindful though not mean.
a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) To whip the cat, to practise the most pinching parsimony, grudging even shreds and scraps to the cat.
1935 J. T. Farrell Judgment Day i. v. 114 Phil was a pinching piker, wouldn't take a chance.
2002 Building Design (Nexis) 15 Mar. 4 A ‘mean, pinching’ attitude towards public realm works.
2.
a. Causing physical or emotional pain or distress (likened to the effect of pressure); pressing severely or painfully; spec. (of the wind, rain, etc.) harsh, biting.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > [adjective] > attended by or causing affliction
eileOE
soreOE
unselec1050
evilc1175
derfa1225
stourc1275
feeble1297
illa1325
fella1400
unhappya1400
unwealful1412
importunea1425
noisomea1450
shrewd1482
importunable?c1485
importunate1490
funestal1538
nippingc1550
troublesome1552
pinching1563
grievesome1568
afflicting1573
afflictive1576
pressing1591
lacerating1609
funest1636
funestous1641
gravaminous1659
unkind1682
plightful1721
damning1798
acanthocladous1858
damnatory1858
fraught1966
the mind > emotion > suffering > cause of mental pain or suffering > [adjective]
eileOE
soreOE
balefulc1200
carefulc1200
aching?c1225
pinefulc1225
sughendc1230
pininga1250
stinginga1250
toughc1275
deringa1325
unsetec1325
unwinc1330
throlya1375
encumbrousc1384
grievable1390
painful1395
plaintfula1400
sweamlya1400
swemandc1400
temptingc1400
importunea1425
sweamfulc1430
penible?a1439
discomfortingc1450
grievingc1450
remordingc1450
sorousc1503
badc1530
paining1532
raw1548
nippingc1550
smartful1556
pinching1563
grievesome1568
griping1568
afflictive1576
pressing1591
boisterous1599
heartstruck1608
carkingc1620
gravaminous1659
vellicating1669
weary1785
traumatizing1970
gut-wrenching1972
the world > health and disease > ill health > pain > types of pain > [adjective] > pinching
pinching1563
1563 A. Neville in B. Googe Eglogs Epytaphes & Sonettes sig. A.iiiv Let mortall hate, let pynching gryefes, let flamyng torments broyle, Within theyr greuous vexed brests.
1583 P. Stubbes Second Pt. Anat. Abuses sig. H2v They applie..gnawing corrosiues, and pinching plaistures.
1659 D. Pell in C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David (1878) V. Ps. cvii. 28 Brought low by pinching and nipping afflictions.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost x. 691 Pinching cold and scorching heate. View more context for this quotation
1720 R. Welton tr. T. Alvares de Andrade Sufferings Son of God I. vi. 118 The Pinching Cold and Frostiness of the Night!
1753 Trial J. Stewart 222 These circumstances are so pinching against the pannel, upon the capital point now in issue.
1764 T. Harmer Observ. Passages Script. i. §xvi. 40 Most nipping, pinching, unpleasant wind.
1822 J. M. Good Study Med. III. 345 Severe and pinching hunger.
1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island i. ii. 10 One January morning,..a pinching, frosty morning.
1916 Newark (Ohio) Advocate 21 Feb. 3/3 (advt.) In pinching-cold weather..are stationed those invincible heat guardians—American Radiators.
1978 P. Grace Mutuwhenua xviii. 127 There was a grey cold in the city, with a pinching wind hooping fragments of the day along the grooves of road.
1991 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 27 Feb. (Private Lives section) 1 d Freezing cold, sapping heat, pinching hunger, beatings, shootings and burnings that could have driven..many over the brink of sanity.
b. That compresses between two surfaces; (esp. of clothes, shoes, etc.); over-tight, nipping.
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the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > pressing, pressure, or squeezing > [adjective] > nipping or pinching
pinching1567
nippy1575
1567 T. Drant in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. H.viiiv A Satyre is a tarte, and carping kinde of verse, An instrument to pynche the prankes of men. And for as much as pynching instrumentes do perce, Yclept it was full well a Satyre then.
1591 J. Florio Second Frutes 43 P. Oh filthie..fashion of some Englishmen, to ride with these hard, straight, and little saddles. T. They are English toyes, to vse..such marble pinching sadles.
1616 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses of Homer xxii, in Whole Wks. Homer 338 Whom..They cast vpon the pauement: wrapt about With sure and pinching cords, both foote and hand.
1692 R. South 12 Serm. I. 484 The benign Latitude of the Doctrine of Good-Will..cuts asunder all these hard, pinching Cords.
1720 J. Dart tr. Tibullus Wks. 48 In vain your Cloaths are chang'd to please her Mind, In vain your Feet in pinching Shoes confin'd.
1883 Daily News 10 May 5/1 Their narrow waists, their pinching shoes.
1955 Nevada State Jrnl. 7 Aug. 27 When frisking a suspect, use a ‘pinching’ action—don't pat.
2003 Gold Coast Bull. (Australia) (Nexis) 6 Sept. Whether it's pinching bra straps, saggy bras or the dreaded G-string..there's no doubt wearing the wrong undies can be uncomfortable.
a. Contracted, compressed; narrow, close. Obsolete.
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the world > space > [adjective] > confined, restricted, or insufficiently spacious
narroweOE
straitc1290
unwidea1400
scanta1533
angust1540
roomless1548
pinched?1567
niggard1595
strict1598
straitened1602
pinching1607
incommodious1615
incapacious1635
over-strait1645
straiteninga1652
cramp1786
bottleneck1854
cramped1884
tight1937
claustrophobic1946
claustrophobe1954
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > breadth or width > lack of breadth or narrowness > [adjective]
nareeOE
narrowOE
smallOE
straitc1400
near1493
unthick1587
pinching1607
widthless1813
shoestring1878
1607 S. Hieron Christians Jrnl. i. 24 It is a great eyesore, to see a little, low, and pinching entrie to a large and spacious dwelling.
1793 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 83 146 To..make the angle less pinching.
1869 Times 1 Nov. 6/4 Rowing a ‘pinching’ race all the way from Putney to Mortlake—upwards of four miles, and whichever crew win, it is pretty certain that they will not have much to spare.
b. Mining and Geology. With out. Of, relating to, or designating a vein or stratum that becomes gradually thinner along its length. Cf. pinch v. 14c. Obsolete. rare.
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1898 M. Davitt Life & Progress Australasia i. iii. 13 That these fields were of the ‘pocket’ and pinching-out character.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > sound of instruments > [adjective] > sound of wind instruments > produced in specific way
open1636
pinching1688
cuivré1931
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 161/1 Wind Musick Pinching Notes or higher Notes, are sounds that ascend 8 Notes higher than the plain notes.
= pinchingly adv. Obsolete.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > pain > types of pain > [adverb] > pinching
pinching1628
1628 T. Venner Via Recta (new ed.) ix. 164 When the weather is pinching cold.
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 295 It is pinching Cold, from January to the middle of February.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.c1230adj.adv.1548