be on pins and needles

be on pins and needles

To be anxious and tense. The phrase likely derived from the tingling sensation (called "pins and needles") that occurs when blood flow returns to a numb limb. A: "Why is Carrie pacing?" B: "She's waiting for the doctor to call with her test results, so she's been on pins and needles all day." Kids are always on pins and needles on Christmas Eve! I can tell Ben is on pins and needles over having to give his speech in front of the entire school, so I'm trying to help him calm his nerves.

See also: and, needle, on, pin

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

on pins and needles, to be

To be extremely nervous or uneasy; in suspense. The image is as clear as that of a cat on a hot tin roof. Robert Louis Stevenson appears to have been the first to use it metaphorically, in St. Ives (1897): “He was plainly on pins and needles.” It was a cliché by the mid-twentieth century. See also on tenterhooks.

See also: and, on, pin, to

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer