needle

like looking for a needle in a haystack

Fig. engaged in a hopeless search. Trying to find a white glove in the snow is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I tried to find my lost contact lens on the beach, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

See also: haystack, like, look

needle someone about someone or something

to pester or bother someone about someone or something. Please don't needle me about Jane. Stop needling me about eating out.

on pins and needles

Fig. anxious; in suspense. I've been on pins and needles all day, waiting for you to call with the news. We were on pins and needles until we heard that your plane had landed safely.

See also: and, pin

pins and needles

Fig. a tingling feeling in some part of one's body, especially the arms and legs. (See also on pins and needles.) I've got pins and needles in my legs. Mary gets pins and needles if she crosses her arms for long.

See also: and, pin

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be like looking for a needle in a haystack

to be difficult or impossible to find I don't know how you find anything in your desk, Polly. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack.

See also: haystack, like, look

be on pins and needles  (American & Australian)

to be nervously waiting to see what is going to happen We're on pins and needles waiting to hear whether she got the job.

See also: and, pin

have pins and needles

to feel slight, sharp pains in a part of your body when you move it after it has been kept still for a period of time (often + in ) I've been sitting on my leg for the last hour and now I've got pins and needles in my foot.

See also: and, have, pin

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a needle in a haystack

something extremely hard to find It's pretty much a needle in a haystack because these fish are extremely hard to find.

Usage notes: also used in the forms look for a needle in a haystack and find a needle in a haystack

Etymology: based on the idea that it is to almost impossible to find a thin sewing needle in a haystack (a very tall pile of dried grass)

See also: haystack

on pins and needles

worried or excited about something I was on pins and needles until she called to say she had arrived in Istanbul.

See also: and, pin