Emily Dickinson Lexicon

pointer (-s), n. [see point, v.] (webplay: degree, figures, stop).

1. Indicator; hour hand; index of a timepiece; long, thin instrument attached to the center of a clock dial which indicates the correct hour; [fig.]
2. Clockworks; mechanism; gear; mechanical system of weights and springs which keeps a timepiece running; [fig.] process; cause; collection of influencing factors; events which determine the outcome of a situation.