pincushion

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See also: pin cushion and pin-cushion

English

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WOTD – 17 April 2020

Etymology

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A pincushion (sense 1).
The flower of the ornamental pincushion (Leucospermum cordifolium; sense 2.1).
The spiny pincushion cactus (Mammillaria spinosissima; sense 2.5).
The flower-bearing inflorescence of the skunkweed (Navarretia squarrosa), a species of pincushionplant (genus Navarretia; sense 2.6), has frilly green bracts with soft spines, making it resemble a pincushion.

The noun is derived from pin +‎ cushion.[1] The verb is derived from the noun.[2]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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pincushion (plural pincushions)

  1. (sewing) A device, originally like a small, stuffed cushion, designed to have sewing pins and needles stuck into it to store them safely; some modern pincushions hold the objects magnetically.
    • 1671, [Richard Head (denies authorship); Francis Kirkman (purported)], “He is Bound Prentice to a Taylor, the Knavery of that Trade, His Master of a Stitch, He is Turn’d over to a Baker, who Misusing Him He Runeth Away”, in The English Rogue: Continued in the Life of Meriton Latroon, and Other Extravagants. […] The Second Part. […], London: […] Francis Kirkman, […], →OCLC, page 113:
      Then for womens cloaths, the cabadge of cloath of ſilver, brancht Sattin, and the like, went for pin-cuſhions, pin-pillows, womens purſes; and if black, Church-wardens capes.
    • 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author Permitted to See the Grand Academy of Lagado. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part III (A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdribb, Luggnagg, and Japan), page 70:
      Some were condenſing Air into a dry tangible Subſtance, by extracting the Nitre, and letting the aqueous or fluid Particles percolate; others ſoftening Marble for Pillows or Pincuſhions; others petrifying the Hoofs of a living Horſe to preſerve them from foundring.
    • 1749, [attributed to John Cleland], The Case of the Unfortunate Bosavern Penlez, London: Printed for T. Clement […], →OCLC, page 12:
      And if, wiſely, or taught by Experience, ſhe [a prostitute] has ſunk any Part [of the money], by hiding it, ſuppose in a Pincuſhion, ripp'd and ſew'd up again, or in her Hair, [...] and is found out, it muſt be pleaſant enough to hear the conſcientious Pandar exclaiming, and crying Vengeance againſt her, for Perfidiouſneſs, and Breach of Truſt.
    • 1791 June 1, John Ireland, “The Harlot’s Progress. Plate I.”, in Hogarth Illustrated, volume I, [London]: J[ohn] & J[osiah] Boydell […], →OCLC, pages 4–5:
      From the inn she is taken to the house of the procuress, divested of her home-spun garb, and dressed in the gayest style of the day; her pincushion and scissars discarded for an etwee and watch, and the tender native hue of her complexion incrusted with paint, and disguised by patches.
    • 1793 September, “Essay on a Pincushion. Addressed to Miss Hales.”, in The Lady’s Magazine; or, Entertaining Companion for the Fair Sex, Appropriated Solely to Their Use and Amusement, volume XXIV, London: Printed for G. G. J. & J. Robinson, […], →OCLC, pages 489–490, column 1:
      Surely, man is a pincuſhion.— [...] He muſt, as other pincuſhions, (whether in the form of a heart, an oval, or an oblong ſquare,) be formed by the ingenuity, and faſhioned by the judgment of ſome ſkilful female. How great an analogy is there between man and a pincuſhion. The one fed with grain, the other with the huſks of it. As the bran is preſſed into the pincuſhion by the ſlender fingers of the deſigning female, ſo are new principles, new ideas, and new affections, diffuſed into the mind, and inculcated in the breaſt, by the powerful charms of the uſurping maid.
    • 1820, Theresa Tidy [pseudonym; Elizabeth Susannah Davenport Graham], chapter VIII, in Eighteen Maxims of Neatness and Order. […], 10th edition, London: Printed for J[ohn] Hatchard and Son, […], →OCLC, page 22:
      It is also expedient to carry about you a purse, a thimble, a pincushion, a pencil, a knife, and a pair of scissars, which will not only be an inexpressible source of comfort and independence, by removing the necessity of borrowing, but will secure the privilege of not lending these indispensable items.
    • [1824?], T. King, “Lovers Quarrels; or, Like Master Like Man: An Interlude, in One Act. Altered from ‘The Mistake’ of Sir John Vanbrugh, by T. King.”, in The Select London Stage; a Collection of the Most Reputed Tragedies, Comedies, Operas, Melo-dramas, Farces, and Interludes. […], London: G. Balne, […], →OCLC, act I, scene iii, page 5, column 2:
      Here, take thy satin pincushion, with thy curious half-hundred of pins in it, that you made such a vapouring about yesterday; tell them carefully, there's not one wanting.
    • 1828 May 15, [Walter Scott], chapter VII, in Chronicles of the Canongate. Second Series. […] (The Fair Maid of Perth), volume I, Edinburgh: […] [Ballantyne and Co.] for Cadell and Co.; London: Simpkin and Marshall, →OCLC, pages 191–192:
      He was accompanied by the honest Bonnet-maker, who, being, as the reader is aware, a little round man, had planted himself like a pin-cushion, (for he was wrapped in a scarlet cloak, over which he had slung a hawking-pouch,) on the top of a great saddle, which he might be said rather to be perched upon than to bestride.
    • 1905 January 12, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “An Exquisite of ’92”, in The Scarlet Pimpernel, popular edition, London: Greening & Co., published 20 March 1912, →OCLC, page 58:
      Do you think I am going to allow my body to be made a pincushion of, by every little frog-eater who don't like the shape of your nose?
    • 1920, John Galsworthy, “Soames Entertains the Future”, in In Chancery (The Forsyte Saga; 2), London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, part I, pages 87–88:
      Going up to the dressing-table he passed his hand over the lilac-coloured pincushion, into which were stuck all kinds of pins; a bowl of pot-pourri exhaled a scent that made his head turn just a little.
    • 1923, Compton Mackenzie, “The First Sermon”, in The Parson’s Progress, London, New York, N.Y.: Cassell and Company, →OCLC, page 24:
      All our foolish little paper-knives and pincushions have their origin in the gold and myrrh and frankincense that the three wise men brought to that lowly stable in Bethlehem.
    • 1967, Mildred Allen Butler, Twice Queen of France: Anne of Brittany, New York, N.Y.: Funk & Wagnalls, →OCLC; republished [s.l.]: Ad Stellae Books, 2013, page 127:
      [...] and, finally, came a platoon of footmen, bearing a large green coffer full of mirrors, sponges, clothes brushes with red velvet handles, pin cushions of crimson satin, combs, nightcaps—everything that could be thought of for her comfort.
    • 1992 September, Herbert Keppler, “How to Test Your Lens”, in Popular Photography, volume 99, number 9, New York, N.Y.: Hachette Magazines, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 51, column 2:
      Yes, at two or more f-stops smaller than maximum aperture there should be a gain in sharpness, particularly in the corners. Is it sharp enough to satisfy you? Examine the horizontal building lines. Do they bulge outwards, indicating barrel distortion, or inward (pincushion distortion)?
    • 1997, Robert J. Parelli, “Image Intensifier System”, in Principles of Fluoroscopic Image Intensification and Television Systems: Workbook and Laboratory Manual, Delray Beach, Fla.: GR/St. Lucie Press, →ISBN, page 13:
      Pincushion distortion is a form of spatial distortion that warps the appearance of the image. It is a consequence of projecting the image formed on a curved input phosphor to a flat output phosphor. Pincushion distortion results in slightly higher magnification of the input image toward the edge of the image.
    • 2012, S. V. Bodle, “Hiding Place”, in Planet Treasure Guardians: Hunt for the Emberteller, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 75:
      Unaware of what she was doing, Skyla gripped Ladek's arm. For someone who bit her nails, they were remarkably sharp, and within seconds he felt like a pin cushion.
  2. The names of various plants with flowers or other parts resembling a pincushion.
    1. A flowering plant in the genus Leucospermum.
      • 2008, Fred Van Dyke, “Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Change”, in Conservation Biology: Foundations, Concepts, Applications, 2nd edition, Dordrecht: Springer Science+Business Media, →ISBN, section 5.5.2 (Climate Change-Integrated Strategies for Conservation), page 143:
        [S]ee how the knowledge of the climate tolerances of one South African shrub, the Saldana pincushion (Leucospermum tomentosum) is integrated with projections of a global circulation model applied to the southern tip of South Africa [...].
    2. A flowering plant in the genus Scabiosa.
    3. The coral bead plant, coral moss, or English baby tears (Nertera granadensis), an ornamental plant.
    4. The dustymaiden, a flowering plant in the genus Chaenactis.
      • 1989 April, Janice Emily Bowers, “Fremont Pincushion”, in 100 Desert Wildflowers of the Southwest, Tucson, Ariz.: Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, published January 1998 (5th printing), →ISBN:
        An abundant wildflower following good winter rains, Fremont pincushion [Chaenactis fremontii] features heads composed entirely of white or pinkish disk flowers.
      • 1999, Janice Emily Bowers, “Plants by Blossom Color”, in Flowers and Shrubs of the Mojave Desert, Tucson, Ariz.: Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, →ISBN, page 46:
        Pebble pincushion [Chaenactis carphoclinia], a delicate annual wildflower with deeply divided leaves, has white or pinkish flowers crowded into heads. If the heads resemble pincushions, then the stamens poking out of the flowers must represent the pins.
    5. The pincushion cactus, of the genera Escobaria or Mammillaria.
      • 1990, “Sheephole/Cadiz: CDCA 305”, in California Statewide Wilderness Study Report, volume 5, part 4, Washington, D.C., Sacramento, Calif.: Bureau of Land Management, →OCLC, page 5:
        Alverson's pincushion cactus (Coryophantha vivipara var. alversonii), under status review by the USF&WS for possible listing as threatened or endangered, is reported to occur the along the northwest boundary of the WSA.
    6. The pincushionplant, a flowering plant in the genus Navarretia.
      • 2018, Eva Begley, “Flowering Plants: Dicotyledons”, in Plants of Northern California: A Field Guide to Plants West of the Sierra Nevada, Lanham, Md.: Falcon Guides, Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 267, column 2:
        Marigold pincushion [Navarretia tagetina], however, is widespread throughout the region except along the coast. [...] In eastern Sacramento County, it grows together with downy pincushion (Navarretia pubescens) in small clearings in blue oak woodland.
  3. (figuratively, colloquial) A person who is pricked or stabbed multiple times with sharp objects; specifically, someone who receives regular hypodermic needle injections.
    Insulin-dependent diabetics are human pincushions.
    • 1922 May–October, John Edwin Hogg, “Hunting Wild Goats by Seaplane”, in The Wide World Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly of True Narrative, Adventure, Travel, Customs, and Sport, volume XLIX, London: George Newnes, Ltd. […], →OCLC, page 192, column 2:
      It took an hour to get there, and by the time the job was done we had collected so many cactus thorns that we felt like human pincushions.
    • 1997, Catherine Coulter, chapter 15, in The Maze, New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnams Sons, →ISBN; republished New York, N.Y.: Berkeley Publishing Group,, 2011, →ISBN:
      Funny thing how her shooting him saved his life. If you hadn't called a quick halt, the cops would have turned him into a human pincushion.
    • 1998, Mildred (Barry) Friedman, “On Being a Human Pincushion”, in Strength and Compassion in Kidney Failure: Writings of Mildred (Barry) Friedman, Professional Kidney Patient, Dordrecht, Boston, Mass.: Kluwer Academic Publishers, →ISBN, page 196:
      Oh yes, I am truly a pincushion. Probably pierced more frequently than pincushions which don't belong to people who sew for a living. You see, I'm a practicing diabetic. Doctors and other members of my Health Care Team tell me I've got to keep my blood sugar level in the normal range and that in order to do that three insulin shots a day and a minimum of three blood sugar checks each day, are called for. Easy for them to say. I get to be the pincushion.
    • 2007, Arden Moore, “Part I: Feeling Fine about Being Feline”, in Lisa H. Hiley, editor, The Cat Behavior Answer Book, North Adams, Mass.: Storey Publishing, →ISBN, page 31:
      Some cats can go a little overboard, though. Some drool while kneading, and others become so enthusiastic that they drive their sharp claws into human legs. If your cat is turning you into a pincushion and regular nail clipping sessions aren't making it less painful for you, you can stop this behavior from becoming an unpleasant habit by simply standing up and walking away.
    • 2011, Belinda A. Hart Love, “The Hospital”, in Coping with My Mother’s Stroke: A Daughter’s Story, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 53:
      One thing that really annoyed me about my mother being in the hospital is that she became a living pincushion. Her arms were black and blue all over from IV lines and blood draws.

Alternative forms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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pincushion (third-person singular simple present pincushions, present participle pincushioning, simple past and past participle pincushioned)

A diagram illustrating how the image on a computer display or television may pincushion (verb sense 2).
  1. (transitive, also figuratively) To jab or stick repeatedly with one or more sharp objects, as with pins into a pincushion.
    The target was pincushioned with arrows.
    • [1853, [Anne Marsh-Caldwell], chapter XVI, in The Longwoods of the Grange. [...] In Three Volumes, volume I, London: Hurst and Blackett, publishers, successors to Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 290 and 291–292:
      [page 290] Then Esther would be constantly making us little presents; little pin-cushions, and purses, and such like, which it was impossible to refuse. [...] [W]e had some very fine old lace, which had belonged to our mother, and we agreed that we would give this to Esther. [...] [pages 291–292] When the transaction came to Aunt Dorothy's knowledge, she was very indignant indeed; and said that we were "two fools to be pin-cushioned out of our mother's old point, which had been in our family ever so long.
      A nonce usage apparently meaning “to have pincushions foisted on oneself”.]
    • 1860 January–June, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, “A Black Sheep”, in Lovel the Widower, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published 1861, →OCLC, page 146:
      As I saw Lady Baker hanging round her son's neck, and fondling his scanty ringlets, I remembered the awful stories with which in former days she used to entertain us regarding this reprobate. Her heart was pincushioned with his filial crimes.
    • [1876 November, “F.” [pseudonym], “The Flower Garden as It is This Year as a Guide to What It is to be Next”, in D. T. Fish, editor, The Villa Gardener, London: […] Virtue & Co., →OCLC, page 348, column 1:
      Again, the double Lobelia is not to be trusted in a row where uniformity of colour is an object. […] Its place is pin[-]cushioned among such delicate flowers as Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums and Duke of Edinburgh, the grand tufts of flowers having a chaste and charming effect among the beautiful foliage and beautiful flowers of such delicate colours, and the failures being little observed.
      The word is used to mean that the lobelia is planted amongst other flowering plants, like pins on a pincushion.]
    • 2001 January, Peter Brandvold, chapter 4, in The Romantics, New York, N.Y.: Forge Books, →ISBN; 1st mass market edition, New York, N.Y.: Forge Books, Tom Doherty Associates, March 2002, →ISBN, page 40:
      Lester and his two boys, Ray and Steve, lay in the ranchyard pincushioned with arrows.
    • 2005 September, Tom Robbins, “The Day the Earth Spit Warthogs”, in Wild Ducks Flying Backward: The Short Writings of Tom Robbins, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 39; 1st trade paperback edition, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Dell, September 2006, →ISBN:
      Well, folks, not to worry. First, I was stuffed to the gullet with malaria prophylactics and pincushioned with inoculations against the most prevalent tropical maladies [...]
    • 2013, Pippa Wright, The Foster Husband, London: Pan Books, →ISBN, pages 87–88:
      Why hadn't I ever considered the extremely agonizing spikiness of a Christmas tree? The vicious needles pincushioned my hands and the tree wobbled precariously as I scrabbled for a pain-free hold.
  2. (intransitive) To assume the shape of a pincushion; specifically, of the image on a computer display, television, etc., to exhibit pincushion distortion, where the sides curve inwards.
    Coordinate term: barrel
    • 2001, Michael Byrd, Jim Pearson, Robert A. Saigh, “Graphics”, in Handbook of Computer Troubleshooting, Chicago, Ill., London: Glenlake Publishing Company; Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, →ISBN, page 206:
      A monitor is pincushioning when the display appears to have curved sides.
    • 2009, Frederick Menick, “The Nasal Defect – Understanding the Challenge”; “Restoring Contour – Recreating a Subsurface Architecture”, in Nasal Reconstruction: Art and Practice, [Edinburgh]: Mosby Elsevier, →ISBN, pages 42 and 282:
      [page 42] Flaps, however, ‘pin cushion’ and develop a convex form as they contract. For this reason, flaps are best used to resurface convex surfaces. A skin graft is best for planar or concave recipient sites. [...] [page 282] As the flap contracts, it pin cushions. This trapdoor effect can contribute to a convex shape.
    • 2011 June, Mary Tschoi, Erik A. Hoy, Mark S. Granick, “Skin Flaps”, in Deborah S. Hickman Mathis (guest editor), Nancy Girard, editors, Perioperative Nursing Clinics: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, volume 6, number 2, Philadelphia, Pa.: W. B. Saunders Company, Elsevier, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 180:
      A circular island flap may pin-cushion. This complication can be avoided with proper planning.

References

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  1. ^ “pincushion, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2006; “pincushion, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. ^ “pincushion, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2006.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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