Common English Vocabulary - The Word Pin

Do you know what we use a rolling pin for?

Do you have trouble finding a hair pin  even though you just bought a packet?

Have you ever pinned your hopes on  something, but it didn’t happen?

Are you a little bit confused about  how to answer some of these questions?

That’s ok!

Hello, everyone.

I’m Anna and I’m here to teach you  all about the many uses of ‘pin’.

Let’s get started with a simple  definition of the word ‘pin’.

The word ‘pin’ is a verb and a noun.

The noun ‘pin’ means ‘a thin piece  of metal with a sharp point at one  

end and a little ball at the other’ -  like the pins you use to pin clothes. 

The verb ‘pin’ means ‘to hold something  or someone down so it or they can’t move’.

“The police had me pinned to the ground.”

It can also mean to simply ‘attach with a pin’.

“Yeah, pin the tail on the donkey.”

‘Pin the tail on the donkey’ is a  popular children’s game where you  

put a tail on a donkey using a pin, not  a real donkey. A picture of a donkey.

‘Pin up’ has the same meaning as ‘pin  to the wall’, so you can also just say,

“We pinned the poster up.” “We pinned up our new football scarf.”

‘A pin-up’ is a noun which  means ‘a glamorous person’.

Marylin Monroe was often referred to as ‘a  

pin-up’ - a woman who might be on  a poster that you’d, well, pin up.

‘Pin down’, however, doesn’t mean ‘to take down’.

Unfortunately, it’s not as clear as that!

‘Pin down’ means ‘to hold something  in place’, sometimes with an object.

“Ah, I had to pin the dog down  while he had his vaccinations.”

Or as a phrasal verb, it means ‘to force  someone to make concrete plans or a decision’.

You can pin your brother down for a holiday drink,  

which means you make your brother  make a plan with you to get a drink…

Or you can pin down a time and day to  discuss a contract with a colleague,  

so you organise a time for that task.

Now, the phrasal verb ‘pin (someone) down’  can be used in formal and informal situations.

Next, we’ll look at ‘pin on’  or ‘pin something on someone’.

This means ‘to try and show  that someone did something  

bad or unhelpful, possibly even a crime’.

The person may or not be guilty.

“The robbery was pinned on an ex-employee.”

So, someone said and there is some evidence  that the ex-employee committed the robbery or

“You’ll never pin that on me!’

This means there will never be  proof that I committed that act.

Another use of ‘pin’ is ‘to  put a pin in something’.

This means ‘to stop discussing or working on  

something and plan to look  at it again after a break’.

For example, you can say

“We’re not getting anywhere with this report. 

Let’s put a pin in it and  come back to it after lunch.”

You can also use the verb ‘stick’, so the  expression would be ‘stick a pin in something’.

Like…

“Can we stick in a pin in that idea  while we explore some other options?”

Meaning, it’s a good idea but it might not be the  

best one so let’s think of some  more and then come back to it.

Next up, I wanna show you some physical objects that are all different kinds of pins.

This is a hair pin.

You use it to hold your hair in place.

And you can usually never find one when  you need it but when you don’t need one,  

then you’ll find one in your handbag, in  your coat pocket, you even step on one.

That’s what’s known as the great pin paradox!

This is a rolling pin.

You use it to roll out pastry or  cookie dough to make it thin and flat.

If you don’t have one, there’s a trick - you can use an empty wine bottle  

instead of a rolling pin and it’s almost as good.

A rolling pin is a useful tool  to have if you like to bake.

This is a safety pin.

You use it to hold things in place or to attach  two different pieces of material together.

Safety pins are really useful when  you have a clothing emergency.

They can be a temporary button or zip.

Some people even use them for decoration!

Here’s a drawing pin.

You may hear this being called a  ‘thumbtack’ - that’s the American  

word but in Britain, we say ‘drawing pin’.

Originally used to attach paper to a drawing board  so the paper doesn’t move while drawing on it,  

drawing pins can be found in almost  every school, office and home today.

And here are some enamel pins.

People in different clubs,  

groups or fandoms wear enamel pins with  a picture of a thing they love on it.

There are some really beautiful pins designed  

and made by artists all over the  world that you can find online.

Here’s one of mine from when I was  a Girl Guide back in my childhood.

“- Emily, time for your nap!”

- No mummy! I wanna play!

- We’ll have to put a pin in this game for now.  

You can play more later. Let’s  tidy up. Where does this go?

- Here. Oh... Look!

What’s this?

- Oops! That’s a safety  pin. How did that get there?

- And this? Which box for this one?

- That’s your hair pin. It goes in your hair box.

- Ok mummy! And this?

- Eerrr… That’s a rolling pin.

What in the world! Why…

Let’s put that in the kitchen.

- And this mummy? Where does this go?

- What?! How do you have my lipstick?

- Mummy! All clean! Can I have ice cream?

Let’s see after your nap but  don’t pin your hopes on it.

‘To pin your hopes on someone or something’ means ‘to really, really want something and  

have ideas about how your future  will be, based on it happening’.

If you ‘pin your hopes on getting a promotion’, 

it means you start to make plans for what  life will be like after your promotion.

Telling someone not to pin their hopes on  something means the same as ‘don’t get your  

hopes up’, as in, it may not happen  so be prepared for disappointment.

Oh, another use of ‘pin’ is ‘pinpoint’,  

which means ‘to identify something  with a lot of precision’.

For example, you can pinpoint exactly where  

to turn when visiting a loved  one’s house for the first time.

In fact, it’s often used in the context of directions - like a pin on a map. There.

Or you can pinpoint precisely where to introduce a  

new topic in a presentation  while you’re planning it.

Another use of ‘pin’ relating to a map is to ‘drop (someone) a pin’.

That means ‘to send them your location  using an instant messaging app’.

For example, ‘I’ll drop you a pin when I  get to the airport so you can come find me!’

“Could you drop me a pin of the  location of the meeting, please?’.

Finally, your PIN number is  your unique identification  

number used to protect your bank accounts.

Now, when you want to get some money, you will  need to know your PIN to operate a cash machine.

I have another short lesson on some useful cash  machine vocabulary that I highly recommend,  

especially if you are planning to visit the UK.

Now, how many of these uses of pin were new to you?

Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time, take care, and goodbye!