pincushion
/'pin,kuʃin/
Definition
Noun: A small, firm cushion or pad, typically stuffed with a soft material like wool, cotton, or sawdust, used for the temporary storage of pins and needles. Its primary function is to keep these sharp objects organized and readily accessible for sewing or other tasks.
Usage
The word "pincushion" is used to refer to the physical object itself. It is a compound noun, but it functions as a single lexical unit. It is most commonly found in contexts related to sewing, tailoring, and crafts.
Examples
- She kept her sewing needles neatly arranged in her pincushion.
- The antique silver thimble sat next to a velvet pincushion on the sewing table.
- For her first sewing project, she bought a basic tomato-shaped pincushion.
Advanced Usage
- Metaphorical Use: The term can be used metaphorically to describe a person or thing that is repeatedly subjected to sharp objects, criticisms, or attacks.
- After the scandal, the politician felt like a human pincushion for the media's questions.
- "Pincushion distortion": In optics and photography, this is a technical term for a specific type of lens aberration where straight lines bulge inward, making an image resemble the shape of a pincushion.
Variants and Related Words
- Pincushion flower (): A common name for a genus of flowering plants, named for the appearance of their flower heads which resemble a pincushion full of pins.
- Pincushion cactus (): A common name for a genus of cacti, named for their shape and covering of spines.
- Pincushioning (medical): A colloquial term sometimes used to describe the repeated injection of insulin or other medications into the same small area of skin.
Synonyms
- Needlecase: (Specifically a case for needles, often rigid, not a cushion).
- Sewing cushion: (A more descriptive, but less common term).
Idioms and Phrases
- Like a pincushion: An adjectival phrase describing something or someone stuck full of pins or similar sharp objects.
- The voodoo doll was stuck like a pincushion.
Noun
-
a small stiff cushion into which pins are stuck ready for use
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