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Joined: Jan 2002
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stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 4 |
All my dictionaries give numerous definitions for the words 'pin' and 'pinned,' but neither of the following and I'm wondering why.
pin (verb), slang, meaning 'to see or watch.' Often used (mostly by young people) in the 1950s and later, as in "Let's pin the flicks" = "Let's go to the movies/go to to see a film."
pinned (adjective). Said of eyes whose pupils are exceedingly contracted, i.e. unusually small, especially in reference to the eyes of heroin users who are high, when the occurrence is common. "With pinned eyes like those, he's got to be on smack."
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Some drugs cause the pupils of the eyes to become constricted, which is sometimes called "pinpoint" pupils.So "pinned" might have arisen from this.
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605 |
pin (verb), slang, meaning 'to see or watch.'I understood it to mean "to see" in the sense of the date exclusively; "going steady". Lyrics from Bye, Bye Birdie, the musical and film from that period: -Have you heard about Hugo and Kim?
Did they really get pinned?
Did she kiss him and cry?
Did he pin the pin on?
Or was he too shy?
Well, I heard they got pinned
-Yeah! Yeah!
I was hopin' they would!
- Oho!
Now they're livin' at last,
Goin' steady for good!http://makeashorterlink.com/?U4A142A8
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 508
addict
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addict
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 508 |
Welcome aBoard, Eddie! Interesting usages - but I can't say I've ever heard either. Could they be UK-specific? "Pinned" meaning going steady is around the same time frame as your "pin the flicks" reference. I assume the drug usage is current? Maybe it hasn't caught on here yet. Not that I would have any way of knowing such things....
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addict
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addict
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Joined: Mar 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
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Welcome, Eddie! Our flock of lingual chirpers is sure to intrigue you! 
Your two usages for pin are new to me. Interesting. I do, of course, know of it as a verb for pinning a steady date.
There's plenty of people with stories, eh W'ON & GallantTed...
Hev, you're too kind...I pale in comparison to TEd, and especially next to our storymeister CapK!
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Joined: Dec 2000
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055 |
> Pin the flicks
I like the usage. Seems clear to me that it comes from sayings like 'Keep your eyes pinned on him'.
As to why your usage isn't in any dictionary - many here can sing a song of how difficult it is even for widely used neologisms to make their way down the well-trodden path, and get their linguitic foot in the door to 'the book about everything'.
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I'm afraid I can't offer much more than my esteemed friends here but I do have to say this:
There's plenty of people with stories, eh W'ON & GallantTed...
