ひねくり回まわす

ひ

ね

く

り

ま

わ

す

Meanings

1

godan verb (-su), transitive verb

twist; twirl; fiddle with (physically)

Physical sense: twisting, twirling, or fiddling with an object in one's hands, often idly or repeatedly.

彼かれはペンをひねくり回まわしながら考かんがえていた。
He was thinking while twirling a pen in his fingers.

2

godan verb (-su), transitive verb

tinker with; rewrite; play around with (words/ideas)

Abstract sense: tinkering with words, plans, or ideas, often by rewriting or reworking them repeatedly.

彼かれは原げん稿こうを何なん度どもひねくり回まわして、ようやく完かん成せいさせた。
He tinkered with the manuscript many times and finally completed it.

3

godan verb (-su), transitive verb

rack one's brains; worry over

Figurative use: racking one's brains or worrying over a problem, often with a sense of overthinking.

難むずかしい問もん題だいをひねくり回まわしても、答こたえは出でなかった。
Even after racking my brains over the difficult problem, I couldn't find an answer.

Written forms

ひねくり回まわすUsage44%
Standard kanji-kana mixed spelling.
ひねくりまわすUsage56%
Kana spelling is acceptable and avoids rare kanji.
捻ひねくり回まわす
Rare variant using 捻; the mixed spelling is far more common.

Kanji

回-times, round, game
捻twirl, twist, play with

Similar words

いじる
いじる is a more general 'fiddle with' or 'tinker with', while ひねくり回す implies more persistent, twisting, or overthinking action.
こねくり回まわす
こねくり回す emphasizes kneading or messing with something physically, whereas ひねくり回す focuses on twisting or mental tinkering.

Etymology

Compound of ひねくる (to twist, fiddle with) and 回す (to turn, revolve). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the combination intensifies the sense of repeated twisting or tinkering.