Wiktionary:Word of the day/2020/April 17

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pincushion n

(sewing) A 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. The names of various plants with flowers or other parts resembling a pincushion. A flowering plant in the genus Leucospermum. A flowering plant in the genus Scabiosa. The coral bead plant, coral moss, or English baby tears (Nertera granadensis), an ornamental plant. The dustymaiden, a flowering plant in the genus Chaenactis. The pincushion cactus, of the genera Escobaria or Mammillaria. The pincushionplant, a flowering plant in the genus Navarretia. (figuratively, colloquial) A person who is pricked or stabbed multiple times with sharp objects; specifically, someone who receives regular hypodermic needle injections. pincushion v (transitive, also figuratively) To jab or stick repeatedly with one or more sharp objects, as with pins into a pincushion. (intransitive) To 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.

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