he tirled at the pin
Preserved but no longer current.
He twiddled or rattled with the latch before opening the door. The pin was not only the latch of chamber doors and cottages, but the "rasp" of castles used instead of the modern knocker. It was attached to a ring, which produced a grating sound to give notice to the warder.
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 “he tirled at the pin” mean?
He twiddled or rattled with the latch before opening the door. The pin was not only the latch of chamber doors and cottages, but the "rasp" of castles used instead of the modern knocker. It was attached to a ring, which produced a grating sound to give notice to the warder.
Is “he tirled at the pin” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.