adam's needle
Preserved but no longer current.
Gen. iii, 7, tells us that Adam and Eve "sewed fig leaves together;" needles were (presumably) not then obtainable, but certain plants furnish needle-like spines, and to some of these the name has been given. The chief is the Yucca, a native of Mexico and Central America.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “adam's needle” mean?
Gen. iii, 7, tells us that Adam and Eve "sewed fig leaves together;" needles were (presumably) not then obtainable, but certain plants furnish needle-like spines, and to some of these the name has been given. The chief is the Yucca, a native of Mexico and Central America.
Is “adam's needle” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.