thread the needle

• thread a needle (verb)

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

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

1. (idiomatic) To perform a tedious task with extreme precision; to manage to find harmony or strike a balance between conflicting forces, interests, etc.
   • 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^[1]:

     It was likely any resolution was going to seem like an anti-climax, and I thought this reveal threaded the needle quite well.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:thread the needle.
2. (skydiving) To fly through a narrow gap; typically using a wingsuit.

thread the needle (uncountable)

1. 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.

• thread needle