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punaise

bedbug

noun poo-NEZ Rare
Home & Lifestyle Cleaning

Also means

thumbtack (drawing pin)

Usage Note

Punaise covers two very different objects: the parasitic insect (Cimex lectularius) and a flat-headed drawing pin used to pin paper to a board. Context always disambiguates. Punaise! is also a mild French exclamation of surprise or irritation (a euphemism for a stronger word), roughly equivalent to 'blast!' or 'darn!'.

Examples

"J'ai fixé la carte avec des punaises."

Natural Translation

I pinned the map with thumbtacks.

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