pin
Preserved but no longer current.
"to put in the PIN," to refrain from drinking. From the ancient peg tankard, which was furnished with a row of PINS, or pegs, to regulate the amount which each person was to drink. Drunken people are often requested to "put in the PIN," from some remote connexion between their unsteadiness and that of a carriage wheel which has lost its linch-PIN. The popular cry, "Put in the PIN," can have no connexion with the drinking PIN or peg now, whatever it may originally have had.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “pin” mean?
"to put in the PIN," to refrain from drinking. From the ancient peg tankard, which was furnished with a row of PINS, or pegs, to regulate the amount which each person was to drink. Drunken people are often requested to "put in the PIN," from some remote connexion between their unsteadiness and that of a carriage wheel which has lost its linch-PIN. The popular cry, "Put in the PIN," can have no connexion with the drinking PIN or peg now, whatever it may originally have had.
Is “pin” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.