writhing

Everyday

1. Twisting and turning the body, usually because of pain, or wriggling like a snake or worm. tree →
2. Feeling very embarrassed or upset: «writhing with embarrassment». tree →
3. Writhing can also describe something, such as smoke, that twists and curls through the air. tree →

In the lessons

In stories, a character writhing on the ground is in great pain; snakes and worms writhe. In Alice in Wonderland, the Mock Turtle says that at school under the sea he learned «Reeling and Writhing» — a pun on reading and writing — and «the different branches of Arithmetic — Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision» (puns on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division). If someone is writhing in pain, get help from an adult fast.

Examples

• The worm was writhing on the path. tree →
• The Mock Turtle learned Reeling and Writhing at school. tree →
• He lay writhing in pain after the fall. tree →
• The snake writhed as it slid across the sand. tree →
• She was writhing with embarrassment. tree →
• Call 999 (or 911, 112, 000, 111 in NZ) if someone is writhing in pain and badly hurt. tree →
• They saw a blue smoke rising, writhing upward till it vanished in the blue ether. tree →

Note

Verb writhe: writhed, writhing (drop the e). The w is silent: «RYE-thing». Pun: Reeling and Writhing = reading and writing.