mindscrew

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mindscrew

Where it comes from

From mind + screw (“to play with; to meddle”).

noun mindscrews

slang Something that destabilizes, confuses, or manipulates a person's mind. It's in television that Abrams, arguably more than Spielberg, has nudged the medium forward, with "Felicity," then "Alias" and finally the mindscrew of "Lost."
Similar: brainfuck, headfuck, mindfuck

verb mindscrews · mindscrewing · mindscrewed

To destabilize, confuse, or manipulate a person's mind. About half the detectives thought his return to the old neighborhood was proof positive that he was out of control; still others believed he had ice water running through his veins, maybe even mindscrewing the cops by rubbing their noses in the fact they couldn't stop him even though they suspected

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MLA

"mindscrew." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mindscrew. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

mindscrew. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mindscrew

Chicago

"mindscrew." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mindscrew.

BibTeX

@misc{mindscrew_2026,
  title = {mindscrew},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mindscrew},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}