on pins and needles

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English

Pronunciation

Prepositional phrase

on pins and needles

  1. (idiomatic) Feeling sharp anticipation or anxiety; in a state of suspense.
    • 1889, Mark Twain, chapter 6, in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court:
      Merlin hesitated a moment or two, and I was on pins and needles during that little while.
    • 1923, Hugh Lofting, chapter 1, in The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, part 5:
      I was on pins and needles of expectation and curiosity.

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