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thumbscrew
/ ˈθʌmˌskruː /
noun
- an instrument of torture that pinches or crushes the thumbs
- a screw with projections on its head enabling it to be turned by the thumb and forefinger
Word History and Origins
Origin of thumbscrew1
Example Sentences
There are really only two things this game doesn’t simulate: misplacing that last thumbscrew and getting thermal paste on absolutely everything.
There are also poems dedicated to thumbscrews, self-deception and sex toys.
The European Union will impose travel bans and asset freezes on 86 Belarusian people and companies on Monday and is preparing economic sanctions that Austria said would "tighten the thumbscrews" on President Alexander Lukashenko.
"We have to tighten the thumbscrews after this callous action of state air piracy," Austria's Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told reporters.
The Boers are depicted as doughty, honest fellows who “observe the rules of the game,” while the British are “toxic,” duplicitous types who tighten “diplomatic thumbscrews.”
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