be shaking like a leaf

be shaking like a leaf

To be trembling violently with fear or nervousness. Sometimes used figuratively. I was shaking like a leaf when I went up to deliver my speech in front of all those people. Ooh, I'm really scared of you! I'm shaking like a leaf, you frighten me so! My brother is so strong and scary-looking that people are shaking like a leaf when he threatens them.

See also: leaf, like, shake

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

be shaking like a leaf

COMMON If someone is shaking like a leaf, their body is shaking a lot, usually because they are very frightened. Note: The `leaf' in the last two expressions is a page of a book. I didn't think about the danger at the time. Afterwards I was shaking like a leaf.

See also: leaf, like, shake

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012