The Collaborative International Dictionary
To pinch at
Pinch \Pinch\, v. i.
To act with pressing force; to compress; to squeeze; as, the shoe pinches.
(Hunt.) To take hold; to grip, as a dog does. [Obs.]
-
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.
Usage examples of "to pinch at".
She sorted through her bagged charms, stopping sometimes to pinch at the contents to freshen her memory of what was inside.
I had supposed that you had come to Bath to thank me for having befriended Lucilla: certainly not to pinch at me for having done so!