noun
stringiness; stretching out like a string
Describes a viscous liquid or sticky substance forming a string when pulled, e.g., melted cheese, natto, or glue.
納豆はよく糸引きが強いと言われる。
Natto is often said to have strong stringiness.
このチーズは熱を加えると糸引きがよくなる。
This cheese becomes nicely stringy when heated.
noun
silk reeling; silk spinning; filature
The process of unwinding silk filament from cocoons; also refers to the occupation or machine. Cross-referenced with 糸取り.
See also: 糸取り
祖母は若い頃、工場で糸引きの仕事をしていた。
My grandmother worked at a silk reeling factory when she was young.
noun
pulling strings; manipulating behind the scenes
Figurative use: secretly controlling someone or something, like a puppeteer. Often used in the phrase 糸引きをする.
彼が裏で糸引きをしているに違いない。
He must be pulling strings behind the scenes.
noun
appearance of strings from Buddha's fingertips (folk belief)
A folk belief that when one prays earnestly, strings appear from the Buddha's fingertips. Rare, historical/religious context.
昔話に、信心深い人が仏様の指先から糸引きを見たという話がある。
There is an old tale of a devout person seeing strings appear from the Buddha's fingertips.
noun
Euphemistic term for menstruation, based on the stringy nature of discharge. Not common in modern everyday speech.
古い文献では、糸引きが月経を婉曲に表すことがある。
In old texts, 糸引き sometimes euphemistically refers to menstruation.
糸取り also means silk reeling, but 糸引き can additionally refer to the stringy quality of substances or figurative manipulation.
Compound of 糸 (thread) and 引き (pulling), literally 'thread-pulling'. The various senses derive from the core image of drawing out a thread.