Hypertext Webster Gateway: "thumbscrew"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Thumbscrew \Thumb"screw`\, n.
1. A screw having a flat-sided or knurled head, so that it
may be turned by the thumb and forefinger.
2. An old instrument of torture for compressing the thumb by
a screw; a thumbkin.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
thumbscrew
n 1: instrument of torture that crushes the thumb
2: screw designed to be turned with the thumb and fingers
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