pincushion

plural pincushions · alternative pin cushion · alternative pin-cushion

1. businessA 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.

   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.

   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

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   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.

   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

   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.

   1749, [attributed to John Cleland], The Case of the Unfortunate Bosavern Penlez, London: Printed for T. Clement […], →OCLC, page 12

   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.

   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

   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.

   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

   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.

   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

2. The names of various plants with flowers or other parts resembling a pincushion.
   1. A flowering plant in the genus Leucospermum.

      [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 [...].

      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

   2. A flowering plant in the genus Scabiosa.

      Scabiosa, often called mourning bride, pincushion flower, and sweet scabious, is an easily grown, old-fashioned, half-hardy annual. It is very attractive and satisfactory both for cutting and for borders and beds.

      1950 October, S. L. Emsweller, “Scabiosa”, in Growing Annual Flowering Plants (U.S. Department of Agriculture Farmers’ Bulletin; no. 1171), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 21

   3. A coral bead plant, coral moss, or English baby tears (Nertera granadensis), an ornamental plant.
   4. A dustymaiden, a flowering plant in the genus Chaenactis.

      An abundant wildflower following good winter rains, Fremont pincushion [Chaenactis fremontii] features heads composed entirely of white or pinkish disk flowers.

      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

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      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.

      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

   5. A pincushion cactus, of the genera Escobaria or Mammillaria.

      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.

      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

   6. A pincushionplant, a flowering plant in the genus Navarretia.

      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.

      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

3. colloquialfigurativelyA 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.

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   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.

   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

   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.

   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

   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.

   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

   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.

   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

   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.

   2011, Belinda A. Hart Love, “The Hospital”, in Coping with My Mother’s Stroke: A Daughter’s Story, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 53

present singular third person pincushions · participle present pincushioning · participle past pincushioned · past pincushioned

1. alsofigurativelytransitiveTo jab or stick repeatedly with one or more sharp objects, as with pins into a pincushion.

   The target was pincushioned with arrows.

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   [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.

   [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

   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.

   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

   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.

   [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

   Lester and his two boys, Ray and Steve, lay in the ranchyard pincushioned with arrows.

   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

   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 [...]

   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

2. intransitiveTo 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.

   A monitor is pincushioning when the display appears to have curved sides.

   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

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   [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.

   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

   A circular island flap may pin-cushion. This complication can be avoided with proper planning.

   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