be like a cat on a hot tin roof
To be anxious and unable to sit still or relax. A: "Why is Carrie pacing?" B: "She's waiting for the doctor to call with her test results, so she's been like a cat on a hot tin roof all day." Watching that game was so stressful—I was like a cat on a hot tin roof the whole time! I don't know why you're like a cat on a hot tin roof—you've done all you can to make sure the merger's a success.
like a cat on a hot tin roof
Anxious, restless, or and unable to sit still or relax. A: "Why does Carrie keep pacing around? She's like a cat on a hot tin roof!" B: "She's waiting for the doctor to call with her test results, so she's been totally stressed out." The kids were so worked up with excitement that they were like cats on a hot tin roof all afternoon.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
like a cat on a hot tin roof (or on hot bricks)
very agitated, restless, or anxious.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
cat on a hot tin roof, like a
Skittish, nervous, ill at ease. A similar analogy—“like a cat on a hot bake-stone”—appeared in John Ray’s Proverbs of 1678. It was later replaced by “like a cat on hot bricks,” still used in the mid-twentieth century, but Tennessee Williams preferred the more picturesque “hot tin roof ” for the title of his 1955 play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer