pin (redirected from pinning ears back)

as straight as a die (British & Australian, American)

completely straight. The road runs straight as a die for fifty miles.

See also: die, straight

be as clean as a whistle

1. if someone is as clean as a whistle, they are not involved in anything illegal. He hasn't got a criminal record - he's clean as a whistle.

2. to be very clean. The café's as clean as a whistle, and the food's excellent.

See also: clean, whistle

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: needle

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. I've been sitting on my leg for the last hour and now I've got pins and needles in my foot. (often + in)

See also: needle

pin back your ears (British)

to listen carefully to something. Pin back your ears - she could be about to say something important. (often an order)

See also: back, ear

pin your hopes on something/someone

to hope that something or someone will help you achieve what you want. The party is pinning its hopes on its new leader who is young, good-looking, and very popular with ordinary people.

See also: hope

pin money

a small amount of money that you earn and spend on things for yourself. She has a part-time job that gives her pin money for extra treats for herself and the kids.

See also: money

pin something on someone

to blame someone for something, especially something they did not do. The police tried to pin the murder on the dead woman's husband.

You could have heard a pin drop.

something that you say in order to describe a situation where there was complete silence, especially because people were very interested or very surprised by what was happening. Margaret's ex-husband turned up at the wedding. Honestly, you could have heard a pin drop.

See also: could, drop, hear

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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: needle

pin down someone

1. to keep someone from being able to escape by shooting at them. For a time, the crew was pinned down by machine-gun fire.

2. to get specific information from someone. It is not easy to pin down a politician who won't even tell you if it's raining or snowing! We tried to pin him down on where the money would come from.

3. to hold someone by force so that they cannot move. Burns usually pinned down and then handcuffed his victims. I was pinned down by a wall that had fallen.

Usage notes: when the object is a pronoun, it always follows pin: Don't pin me down about my plans.

See also: down

pin down something

to discover the facts or exact details about something. The fire department is trying to pin down the cause of Wednesday's fire. So far we haven't pinned down a date.

See also: down

pin your hopes on someone/something

to depend on someone or something for a successful result. The party is pinning its hopes on its new leader, who is young, good-looking, and very popular. Scientists are pinning their hopes on the high-tech laboratory.

Usage notes: usually said when it is not certain whether something will happen or succeed

See also: hope

pin something on someone

to blame someone for something. The accident can't be pinned on me, but I truly don't know how it happened.

pin something on something

to depend on something for a particular result. We are all pinning our hopes on the new pipeline for a cleaner water supply.

you could hear a pin drop

to be extremely quiet. The new sound-proof lab is so well designed, you can hear a pin drop. You could have heard a pin drop for a full minute after every song and then the audience would clap wildly.

See also: could, drop, hear