thread the needle

verb

Etymology

From the analogy of passing a thread through the eye of a needle, which requires great focus and precision to accomplish.

Definitions

  1. To perform a tedious task with extreme precision

    To perform a tedious task with extreme precision; to manage to find harmony or strike a balance between conflicting forces, interests, etc.

    • Were I writing for the Court, I would seek to thread the needle between acknowledging Principal Morse's authority, on the one hand, while respecting student Frederick's rights, on the other.
    • It was likely any resolution was going to seem like an anti-climax, and I thought this reveal threaded the needle quite well.
  2. To fly through a narrow gap

    To fly through a narrow gap; typically using a wingsuit.

  3. A game in which children stand in a row, joining hands, and in which the outer one, still…

    A game in which children stand in a row, joining hands, and in which the outer one, still holding their neighbor, runs between the others.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for thread the needle. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA