Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
torture device forfingers andtoes .
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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She sobs as she paces, horrible images of that poor, wonderful girl lying in a rack, her hands bulging purple in iron pilliwinks.
The Hunger Whitley Strieber 1981
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She sobs as she paces, horrible images of that poor, wonderful girl lying in a rack, her hands bulging purple in iron pilliwinks.
The Hunger Whitley Strieber 1981
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She sobs as she paces, horrible images of that poor, wonderful girl lying in a rack, her hands bulging purple in iron pilliwinks.
The Hunger Whitley Strieber 1981
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She sobs as she paces, horrible images of that poor, wonderful girl lying in a rack, her hands bulging purple in iron pilliwinks.
The Hunger Whitley Strieber 1981
reesetee commented on the word pilliwinks
an old instrument of torture similar to the thumbscrew
February 27, 2007
sionnach commented on the word pilliwinks
also known as thumbikins.
January 24, 2008
asativum commented on the word pilliwinks
Awww. How cute. Or not.
January 24, 2008
avivamagnolia commented on the word pilliwinks
Gory Detail:
The thumbscrew, or pilliwinks, is a torture instrument which was used in medieval Europe. It is a simple vise, sometimes with protruding studs on the interior surfaces. The victim's thumbs or fingers were placed in the vise and slowly crushed. The thumbscrew was also applied to crush prisoners' toes, while larger, heavier devices based on the same design principle were applied to destroy knees and elbows.
January 18, 2009