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| Afraid of one's own shadow | A person who is
afraid of their own shadow is very nervous or easily frightened. "I've never seen anyone so easily scared - she's afraid of her own shadow." |
| Make your blood run cold | If something makes your blood run cold, it shocks or scares you a
lot. "The look in the prisoner's eyes made my blood run cold." |
| Bundle of nerves |
If you describe somebody as a bundle of nerves, you
mean that they are very nervous, tense or worried. "My son is doing his driving test today. Needless to say he's a bundle of nerves!" |
| Have butterflies in your stomach | If you have butterflies in your stomach,
you are feeling very nervous. "At the beginning of an exam, I always have butterflies in my stomach." |
| Like a cat on hot bricks | A person who is like a cat on hot bricks is very
nervous or restless. "The week before the results were published, she was like a cat on hot bricks." |
| On the edge of one's seat |
Someone who is on the edge of their seat is very interested in something and finds it both extremely exciting and nerve-wracking. "Look at Bob! He's on the edge of his seat watching that rugby match." |
| Get your fingers burnt | If you get your fingers burnt, you suffer as a result of an
unsuccessful action and are nervous about trying again. "He got his fingers so badly burnt in the last elections that he decided to withdraw from politics." |
| Have one's heart in one's mouth | Someone who has their
heart in their mouth feels
extremely anxious or nervous faced with a dangerous or unpleasant situation. "Emma had her heart in her mouth when she saw her 2 year-old son standing in front of the open window." |
| Your heart misses a beat |
If
your heart misses a beat, you have a sudden feeling of fear or
excitement. "When the lights suddenly went out, her heart missed a beat." |
| Hold your breath | If someone is holding their breath, they are waiting
excitedly or anxiously for something to happen. "I went for second interview today - now I'm holding my breath!" |
| Jump out of one's skin | If you jump out of your skin, you are extremely
surprised, scared or shocked. "Jane nearly jumped out of her skin when the horse put its head through the window!" |
| Get your knickers in a twist. | If you get your knickers in twist, you are
nervous or upset faced with a difficult situation "Don't get your knickers in a twist! Everything is under control." |
| Nerves of steel |
Someone who has nerves of steel
is not afraid in a difficult or dangerous situation. "You need to have nerves of steel to drive on those mountain roads." |
| On pins and needles | Someone
who is on pins and needles about something is very anxious or nervous about what will happen. "Scott was on pins and needles while he waited for the results of the exams." |
| Scare somebody out of their wits |
If something scares you out of your wits, it makes you very
frightened or worried. "The feeling that their house is haunted can scare people out of their wits." |
| Shake like a leaf | If you shake like a leaf, you tremble with fear or nervousness. "At the beginning of the interview I was shaking like a leaf." |
| To be on tenterhooks | A person who is on tenterhooks is
in a state of anxious suspense or excitement. |
| Tongue-tied |
If you are tongue-tied, you have difficulty in expressing yourself
because you are nervous or embarrassed. "At the start of the interview I was completely tongue-tied but little by little I relaxed." |
| Be at your wits' end |
If you are at your wits' end, you are very anxious or worried about
something and do not know what to do. "When her son dropped out of school for the second time, Susan was at her wits' end." |
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