I. ˈbädkə̇n noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English bodekin, boidekin
1.
a. : dagger , poniard , stiletto
b. : a small slender instrument with a sharp point for making holes in cloth and leather and for picking out bastings
c. : an ornamental hairpin shaped like a stiletto
2. : a blunt needle with a large eye for drawing tape or ribbon through a casing, beading, or hem
3. : a compositor's sharp-pointed tool used chiefly to push out a character from set type when making corrections
4. chiefly Britain : a person closely wedged between two others
a bodkin squeezed and sweating on a bus
II. adverb
chiefly Britain : in the position of a bodkin (sense 4)
sitting bodkin on the crowded train
too fat to ride bodkin between two friends