| 1. | a tingly, prickly sensation in a limb that is recovering from numbness. |
| 2. | on pins and needles, in a state of nervous anticipation: The father-to-be was on pins and needles. |
| pins and needles pl.n. A tingling sensation felt in a part of the body numbed from lack of circulation. |
In a state of anxiety or tense expectation: “Jackie was on pins and needles waiting to hear about her job application.”
on pins and needles
Nervously anxious, as in He was on pins and needles, waiting for the test results. The graphic expression pins and needles for the tingling sensation experienced in recovering from numbness was transferred to a feeling of marked mental uneasiness about 1800.