thread the needle

English

Pronunciation

Audio (AU) (file)

Verb

thread the needle (third-person singular simple present threads the needle, present participle threading the needle, simple past and past participle threaded the needle)

(idiomatic) To find harmony or strike a balance between conflicting forces, interests, etc. Normally used to indicate the difficulty of doing so; also, sarcastically, for a failed attempt.
- 2010, James C. Foster, Bong Hits 4 Jesus: A Perfect Constitutional Storm in Alaska's Capital, University of Alaska Press, published 2010, →ISBN, page 215:
  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.
- 2021 September 6, Zack Handlen, “Rick And Morty ends its fifth season looking for an escape hatch”, in AV Club‎:
  It was likely any resolution was going to seem like an anti-climax, and I thought this reveal threaded the needle quite well.

Quotations

For more quotations using this term, see Citations:thread the needle.

Noun

thread the needle (uncountable)

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

Synonyms

thread needle