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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
pinch
I.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
pinch of salt (=a very small amount)
▪ a pinch of salt
pinch of snuff
▪ He took a pinch of snuff.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
in
▪ It was one of the slimmest, and the envelopes in it were pinched in slightly by the pressure of the bands.
▪ She always had on a brown cotton smock which was pinched in around the waist with a wide leather belt.
▪ He was breathing quickly, his nostrils pinching in as he thought of the coming confrontation with his wife.
out
▪ To obtain good bushy plants, keep pinching out the tips.
▪ He pinched out one candle and took the other to light his way down.
▪ Breathless and dizzy, Nicholas found and pinched out his fuse, and looked across gasping to John.
▪ And would be more so when she could steel herself to pinch out the little chin and make it weak.
▪ When the tomato plants have set four trusses of fruit, pinch out the growing tips.
▪ When the bean vine reaches the top of the cane, pinch out the growing point.
▪ Perilla frutescens Purple-bronze leaves, a little like a coleus. Pinch out growing tip to make bushy.
■ NOUN
cheek
▪ She reached over and pinched his cheeks.
▪ Then he shook Changez's hand twice and pinched his cheeks.
▪ Life has to pinch your cheeks hard to make you happy.
▪ Shop assistants abandon customers to pinch its cheek.
▪ She showed me his face, pinching his cheeks, and offered him.
▪ She demonstrated her dexterity by managing to pinch my cheek while wearing elbow-length white gloves.
▪ He pinched Converse on the cheek.
face
▪ Her assailants had covered her face and pinched her nose so that she could not breathe.
▪ By morning his face was dark and pinched, his feet and hands cold and blue.
▪ His face was greyish and pinched, his eyes, when he raised them, inflamed.
▪ She showed me his face, pinching his cheeks, and offered him.
▪ I slapped my face and pinched my thighs till they hurt.
▪ His pale eyes, looking briefly at me, had a hostile appearance; his face was pinched.
■ VERB
feel
▪ They feel pinched by rising costs in repairs and housing.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
take sth with a pinch/grain of salt
▪ But since he never even notices that Howard is himself Howard takes this with a pinch of salt.
▪ I try to take everything with a grain of salt.
▪ We took her to a psychic reader about a month ago-we take that with a grain of salt.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Dad! Katy just pinched me!
▪ Stop pinching me!
▪ These shoes pinch my toes.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ He pinched some out and cleaned it on a crumpled paper bag, not knowing what to say.
▪ He pinched the last quarter inch of his cigarette tightly, and sucked on it so hard it squeaked.
▪ It was one of the slimmest, and the envelopes in it were pinched in slightly by the pressure of the bands.
▪ She pinched her own arm until it was black and blue.
▪ These fellows for fun would pinch one and put it on another step, and do this going all down the road.
II.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
pleat
▪ Allow a little extra for pinch pleat tape in order to balance your pleats.
▪ These pleats are also of a predetermined size and therefore any adjustment is limited, as with pinch pleat tape.
▪ It should be treated in the same way as pinch pleat tape.
▪ Hand pinch pleat A hand pinch pleat heading, producing sharp, crisp pleats, is far superior to a taped version.
■ VERB
feel
▪ Chichester was not the only Sussex town to feel the pinch of economic decay.
▪ Meanwhile, with its future hanging in the balance, Fokker is starting to feel the pinch.
▪ Schools in the poorest areas, already short of resources, are certainly feeling the pinch.
▪ Small businesses dependent on the government also are feeling the pinch.
▪ Membership of the club has dwindled from 70 to 20 and its clear commuters are feeling the pinch.
▪ He felt the pinch of depravity.
▪ In addition, parish priests were feeling the pinch through reduced income from alms and tithes.
take
▪ While the first statement is no doubt true, the second must be taken with a pinch of salt.
▪ I felt the mud under my hands, then quickly took a pinch into my mouth.
▪ She took a pinch of snuff in her hand and sprinkled it over the note murmuring something under her breath.
▪ Even Big Macs at times need to be taken with a pinch of salt.
▪ But since he never even notices that Howard is himself Howard takes this with a pinch of salt.
▪ But she dipped her thumb and forefinger into the bag and took out a pinch of snuff.
▪ She saw me looking at her and thrusting the bag under my nose invited me to take a pinch.
▪ This means that the figures quoted in this paragraph have to be taken with a small pinch of salt.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Grandma gave us both a pinch on the cheek.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Among insurance companies, he could win any case in a pinch.
▪ At significant times in the day we have got real pinch points on corridors, particularly motorways.
▪ Duquette, pinch hitting for manager Kevin Kennedy, voiced his views at a BoSox Club luncheon.
▪ Hunt evening coat, waistcoat fitting him with the same exact pinch as waistcoats had when he was twenty.
▪ I take all that fame with a pinch of salt.
▪ Mark on veins and pinch base together to shape.
▪ Not quirky little ritual habit-forming, like throwing a pinch of spilled salt over your shoulder, but slow suicide habit-forming.
▪ Small businesses dependent on the government also are feeling the pinch.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Pinch

Pinch \Pinch\, n.

  1. A close compression, as with the ends of the fingers, or with an instrument; a nip.

  2. As much as may be taken between the finger and thumb; any very small quantity; as, a pinch of snuff.

  3. Pian; pang. ``Necessary's sharp pinch.''
    --Shak.

  4. A lever having a projection at one end, acting as a fulcrum, -- used chiefly to roll heavy wheels, etc. Called also pinch bar.

    At a pinch, On a pinch, in an emergency; as, he could on a pinch read a little Latin.

Pinch

Pinch \Pinch\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pinched; p. pr. & vb. n. Pinching.] [F. pincer, probably fr. OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to G. pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Cf. Piece.]

  1. To press hard or squeeze between the ends of the fingers, between teeth or claws, or between the jaws of an instrument; to squeeze or compress, as between any two hard bodies.

  2. to seize; to grip; to bite; -- said of animals. [Obs.]

    He [the hound] pinched and pulled her down.
    --Chapman.

  3. To plait. [Obs.]

    Full seemly her wimple ipinched was.
    --Chaucer.

  4. Figuratively: To cramp; to straiten; to oppress; to starve; to distress; as, to be pinched for money.

    Want of room . . . pinching a whole nation.
    --Sir W. Raleigh.

  5. To move, as a railroad car, by prying the wheels with a pinch. See Pinch, n., 4.

  6. To seize by way of theft; to steal; to lift. [Slang]
    --Robert Barr.

  7. to catch; to arrest (a criminal).

Pinch

Pinch \Pinch\, v. i.

  1. To act with pressing force; to compress; to squeeze; as, the shoe pinches.

  2. (Hunt.) To take hold; to grip, as a dog does. [Obs.]

  3. To spare; to be niggardly; to be covetous.
    --Gower.

    The wretch whom avarice bids to pinch and spare.
    --Franklin.

    To pinch at, to find fault with; to take exception to. [Obs.]
    --Chaucer.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
pinch

early 13c., from Old North French *pinchier "to pinch, squeeze, nip; steal" (Old French pincier, Modern French pincer), of uncertain origin, possibly from Vulgar Latin *punctiare "to pierce," which might be a blend of Latin punctum "point" + *piccare "to pierce." Meaning "to steal" in English is from 1650s. Sense of "to be stingy" is recorded from early 14c. Related: Pinched; pinching.

pinch

late 15c., "critical juncture" (as in baseball pinch hitter, attested from 1912), from pinch (v.). This figurative sense is attested earlier than the literal sense of "act of pinching" (1590s) or that of "small quantity" (as much as can be pinched between a thumb and finger), which is from 1580s. There is a use of the noun from mid-15c. apparently meaning "fold or pleat of fabric."

Wiktionary
pinch

n. 1 The action of squeezing a small amount of a person's skin and flesh, making it hurt. 2 A small amount of powder or granules, such that the amount could be held between fingertip and thumb tip. 3 An awkward situation of some kind (especially money or social) which is difficult to escape. 4 An organic herbal smoke additive. vb. 1 To squeeze a small amount of a person's skin and flesh, making it hurt. 2 To squeeze between the thumb and forefinger. 3 To squeeze between two objects. 4 To steal, usually of something almost trivial or inconsequential.

WordNet
pinch
  1. n. a painful or straitened circumstance; "the pinch of the recession"

  2. an injury resulting from getting some body part squeezed

  3. a slight but appreciable addition; "this dish could use a touch of garlic" [syn: touch, hint, tinge, mite, jot, speck, soupcon]

  4. a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action; "he never knew what to do in an emergency" [syn: emergency, exigency]

  5. small sharp biting [syn: nip]

  6. a squeeze with the fingers [syn: tweak]

  7. the act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal); "the policeman on the beat got credit for the collar" [syn: apprehension, arrest, catch, collar, taking into custody]

  8. v. squeeze tightly between the fingers; "He pinched her behind"; "She squeezed the bottle" [syn: squeeze, twinge, tweet, nip, twitch]

  9. make ridges into by pinching together [syn: crimp]

  10. make off with belongings of others [syn: pilfer, cabbage, purloin, abstract, snarf, swipe, hook, sneak, filch, nobble, lift]

  11. cut the top off; "top trees and bushes" [syn: top]

  12. irritate as if by a nip, pinch, or tear; "smooth surfaces can vellicate the teeth"; "the pain is as if sharp points pinch your back" [syn: vellicate]

Gazetteer
Pinch, WV -- U.S. Census Designated Place in West Virginia
Population (2000): 2811
Housing Units (2000): 1194
Land area (2000): 3.507567 sq. miles (9.084557 sq. km)
Water area (2000): 0.037141 sq. miles (0.096194 sq. km)
Total area (2000): 3.544708 sq. miles (9.180751 sq. km)
FIPS code: 63772
Located within: West Virginia (WV), FIPS 54
Location: 38.406348 N, 81.484682 W
ZIP Codes (1990):
Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
Headwords:
Pinch, WV
Pinch
Wikipedia
Pinch

Pinch or pinching may refer to:

  • Pinch (action), gripping an object or substance between two fingers
  • Pinch (cooking), a very small amount of an ingredient, typically salt or a spice
  • Pinch (whisky) or Haig's Pinch, brand of Scotch whisky
  • Pinch, Indiana, an unincorporated community
  • Pinch, West Virginia, a census-designated place in Kanawha County
Pinch (drummer)

Pinch (born Andrew Pinching on 5 September 1965 in Grantham, Lincolnshire) is the current drummer in punk band the Damned. He has been with the band since 1999. He attended the King's School in Grantham, where he was a founder member of the English Dogs.

Pinch is currently employed by House of Blues Entertainment LLC Inc and works as a stage manager for one of its venues.

Pinch (cooking)

A pinch in cooking (pn) is an amount of an ingredient, typically salt, sugar, or spice. Traditionally it was defined as "an amount that can be taken between the thumb and forefinger". Historically the pinch was more precisely defined by some U.S. cookbooks as approximately teaspoon.

In the early 2000s some companies began selling measuring spoons that defined (or redefined) a dash as teaspoon, a pinch as teaspoon, and a smidgen as teaspoon. Based on these spoons, there are two pinches in a dash and two smidgens in a pinch.

One pinch of fine salt is approximately gram (20–24 pinches per teaspoon), while one pinch of sugar is – = gram.

Pinch (plasma physics)

A pinch is the compression of an electrically conducting filament by magnetic forces. The conductor is usually a plasma, but could also be a solid or liquid metal. Pinches were the first device used by mankind for controlled nuclear fusion.

The phenomenon may also be referred to as a Bennett pinch (after Willard Harrison Bennett), electromagnetic pinch, magnetic pinch, pinch effect or plasma pinch.

Pinches occur naturally in electrical discharges such as lightning bolts, the aurora, current sheets, and solar flares.

Pinch (dubstep musician)

Rob Ellis, better known as Pinch, is a dubstep artist from Bristol, United Kingdom noted for his fusion of styles such as Reggae, World Music, and Dancehall with dubstep. He released his first album, Underwater Dancehall in 2007, on Tectonic records, which he founded. One of Pinch's most well-known tracks is "Qawwali", released on Planet Mu records, which references the devotional singing of the same name and features samples of harmonium and singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. His songs appear on compilations such as "Box of Dub: Dubstep and Future Dub 2" ( Soul Jazz Records), "Science Faction: Dubstep" ( Breakbeat Science Recordings), "10 Tons Heavy" ( Planet Mu) and "200" ( Planet Mu).

Pinch (action)

A pinch is a grip of a flexible object in which a portion is taken between two fingers, until it hurts, or something of resemblance and squeezed so the gripped portion of the object is lifted from its normal level. By extension, that which is taken in the grip is referred to as a "pinch."

When the fingers are used to perform a pinch, the action usually consists of the thumb and one other finger. The closer to the thumb the other finger is located, the stronger the pinch.

Usage examples of "pinch".

Cover with salted and acidulated water, add a bunch of parsley, a sliced onion, and a pinch of powdered sweet herbs.

Scale and clean two large kingfish, and boil in salted and acidulated water, with a bunch of parsley, a slice each of carrot and onion, and a pinch of powdered sweet herbs.

The Akka woman spoke sharply, and the people quieted, not without a lot of pinching and protests, so that Falling-down could go on.

Singular, communed the guest with himself, the wonderfully unequal faculty of metempsychosis possessed by them, that the puerperal dormitory and the dissecting theatre should be the seminaries of such frivolity, that the mere acquisition of academic titles should suffice to transform in a pinch of time these votaries of levity into exemplary practitioners of an art which most men anywise eminent have esteemed the noblest.

Replacing the aspergillum, the priest took a pinch of barley meal from golden salver beside the bowl.

But I remember the pinched little self-hating man who came to my auberge forty years ago.

Then he pinched her chin in an almost avuncular fashion and, to her mixed regret and relief, released it.

Sometimes, it was when Vetch moved a little too quickly, once, when Baken accidentally pinched a fold of skin while harnessing him.

Captain Bazan Deralta had an old, lined face with tufted eyebrows and a pinched nose set above a firm mouth and prominent jaw.

They walk in the middle of winter with their poor little toes pinched into a miniature slipper, incapable of excluding as much moisture as might bedew a primrose.

SmithKline Beecham, that exercise in bioinformatics yielded in just weeks a promising drug target that standard laboratory experiments could not have found without years and a pinch of luck.

Force-hold to pinch off that brachial artery, she would have bled out in seconds.

His jaw muscles bunch and his nostrils flare and pinch at a dreamed whiff of cadaverine breath.

Elora pinched her extra hard, and Caille locked her hands in with her strong little forearms.

Take sauce off the fire and stir in by degrees two tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar, two tablespoons of Indian soy, one finely chopped green gherkin, one small pinch of cayenne pepper, and a small quantity of salt.