English idioms relating to anxiety or fear

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English idioms relating to ANXIETY - FEAR - NERVOUSNESS - TENSION

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."
Bated breath	If you wait for something with bated breath, you are both anxious and excited about an imminent event. "We waited with bated breath for the winner to be announced."
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."
Break out in a cold sweat	If you break out in a cold sweat, you start to perspire a lot, usually from anxiety. "I get nervous at the dentist's and usually break out in a cold sweat."
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 kittens	To say you're going to have kittens is a dramatic way of expressing worry, anxiety or fear. "His mother nearly had kittens when Alex announced that he wanted to be a trapeze artist."
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!"
If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!	This expression means that if you feel that there is too much pressure, you can leave. Amid the growing tension the organizer declared: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!"
Ignorance is bliss	This expression means that if you don't know about a problem or unpleasant fact, you won't worry about it. "I didn't know our neighbour was an escaped prisoner until the police arrived - ignorance is bliss!"
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."
Quaking in one's boots	When someone is extremely scared, it is said that they are quaking in their boots. "When he saw the crocodiles in the water, he started quaking in his boots."
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."
Struck dumb	If someone is struck dumb, they are unable to speak because they are so surprised, shocked or frightened by something. "The accused was struck dumb when the verdict was announced."
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."
Whistle in the dark	If you whistle in the dark, you try to hide your fear in a frightening or dangerous situation. "Tom looks confident but he's just whistling in the dark; he knows he's going to lose his job."
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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