the eye of a needle

eye of the needle

1. Literally, the opening at end of a needle through which a thread is passed so it can be used for sewing. Would you mind getting this thread through the eye of the needle for me? My eyesight is so bad, I can't see where it's supposed to go.
2. By extension, an extremely narrow space. Hyphenated if used as a modifier before a noun. There were so many people in the crowd, but we managed to make our way through the eye of the needle to get right in front of the stage. The player is remarkable for making eye-of-the-needle passes that slip between the defenders in front of their net.
See also: eye, needle, of
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

the eye of a needle

a very small opening or space (used to emphasize the impossibility of a projected endeavour).
This phrase comes from Matthew 19:24: ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God’.
2001 FourFourTwo Able to thread a pass through the eye of a needle, he can play in the centre or on either flank.
See also: eye, needle, of
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • eye of the needle
  • thread the needle
  • hang by a thread
  • hang by a thread, to
  • hang by a thread/hair
  • thread through
  • thread through (something)
  • hang (on) by a hair
  • hang by a hair
  • PMJI
References in periodicals archive
Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible." Then Peter said to him in reply, "We have given up everything and followed you.
THE EYE OF A NEEDLE. Jesus, like people in the Near East, often speaks in hyperboles.
The rich and the Kingdom of heaven
They include a sculpture of Buzz Aldrin in his spacesuit next to the US flag - constructed within the eye of a needle. While working on a grain of sand he would sometimes use the tremor caused by his own heartbeat as a jack hammer to chisel the tiny particle.
Making it big in the world of tiny sculptures; Talk TV
I expect it is humping around the millions on the rich man's back that stops him getting through the eye of a needle for his hump is preventing him from doing so.
Victoria has no reason to sulk
Engraver Graham Short, carved a Bible quote on a miniature fleck of gold in the eye of a needle, the Daily Star reported.
World's smallest engraving on eye of needle sells for 100K pounds
Through the Eye of a Needle: The Elephant and the Jewish Connection
A word from the editor
BEATLE legend John Lennon was recreated in miniature for a new exhibition of art small enough to fit in the eye of a needle.
INTRICATE: Artist Willard Wigan with his Needle Art Exhibition at Hard Day's Night Hotel and (inset) some of his tiny sculptures, Humpty Dumpty and Camels Through the Eye of a Needle
Artist focuses on Lennon's look; Beatles legend recreated in miniature for exhibition
If Jesus had said it would be easier for a gay guy to sashay through the eye of a needle than to get into heaven, we could understand why social conservatives become unhinged at the thought of gays having constitutional rights.
What Jesus said was that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven.
A closet full of contradictions
The celebrated Taiwanese miniature sculptor presented his Six Pandas In The Eye Of A Needle, which took him four painstaking months to complete, before a thrilled crowd in Taipei.
Six Pandas In The Eye Of A Needle is the latest miniature work by Taiwanese artist Chen Frong-shean.
Miniature artist sews he's no flash in the panda
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.' And the others reply, "Who then can be saved?" And Jesus answers: "What is impossible for humans is possible for God" (Luke 18:24-26).
Do the impossible
Perhaps it is an exaggeration to describe it as a camel squeezing through the eye of a needle. But the nursing home market certainly looks pinched in an analysis published recently by Irving Levin Associates, a Stamford, CT marketing analysis firm.
Trends shaping the nursing home environment
The collection includes a Statue of Liberty in the eye of a needle and a sculpture of Marilyn Monroe, half the size of a full-stop, carved out of a diamond.
Massive deal for a mini collection