the heebie-jeebies

An extreme or acute sensation of fear, apprehension, worry, or anxiety. Often used with "get" or "give." I always get the heebie-jeebies when I walk through a graveyard. All these ghost stories are giving me the heebie-jeebies.

heebie-jeebies

and heeby-jeebies (ˈhibiˈdʒibiz)

n. an extreme case of anxiety or fear. I have the heebie-jeebies whenever I go to the dentist.

heeby-jeebies

verb

See heebie-jeebies

heebie-jeebies

Anxiety or fear. Records indicate that “heebie-Jeebies” first appeared in print in a 1923 newspaper cartoon by one Billy DeBeck, in which a character says, “You dumb ox—why don't you get that stupid look offa your pan—you gimme the heeby jeebys!” The spelling changed over the years, as witnessed by its inclusion a year later in the “Alabamy Bound” popularized by the Paul Whitman Orchestra: “I'm Alabamy bound, there'll be no heebie-jeebies hanging 'round . . .”

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References in periodicals archive

It gives me the heebie-jeebies" SNP MP Hannah Bardell "I don't think Paul Hollywood is nasty.

They said what?

It gives me the heebie-jeebies" - SNP MP Hannah Bardell.

THEY SAID WHAT?

'Second Coming's' genuinely unexpected twists notwithstanding, Jodi's considerable acting chops are no match for the film's charmless characters and snooze-inducing sense of dread that is better at building atmospheric suspense than actually scaring the heebie-jeebies out of viewers.

Trio of thrillers has more bark than bite

"Every time I go to the doctor and they try and use some on me it just gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Woolly bullies; Worker explains phobia after case win

Har perils the on who people keep can't down vo ices The thought of people listening to my calls gives me the heebie-jeebies. If I have to answer my phone during a journey (my Cat-like reflexes mean it will generally ring for less than half a second) I blush apologetically, whisper, ''I'm on the train I'll call you back" and hang up before anyone notices.

Silence is golden but loudmouths all seem to have a real brass neck

Musically, Moldovan group Carla's Dreams have been called everything from pop and R'n'B to jazz and reggae, but it's their look that gives us the heebie-jeebies - the band is anonymous, performing in hoodies, masks and eerie facial make-up.

Fiesta De Los Muertos in Dubai: Who to see this weekend

Research by credit report firm Noddle also shows applying for credit gives more than two-thirds the heebie-jeebies as we worry we will be turned down.

YOUR CREDIT SCORE

EMMA GREEN: This place gave me the heebie-jeebies when I walked around it at 3am.

TWEETS OF THE DAY

Were it not for Brexit giving financial markets the heebie-jeebies, this would have to have been one of the shortest bear markets in living memory -- unless, of course, you take note of doomsters like that blithering idiot of a so-called financial expert who writes, inter-alia no doubt, for the Motley Fool .

Brexit and your savings: an expat's view

THE merest sight of red and white stripes around The Hawthorns normally gives Albion players and fans alike the heebie-jeebies.

High time to stop Stoke being 'thorns in our side; COMMENT

I get the heebie-jeebies reading over and over about the need to install timers at traffic signals.

Speedy Gonzales..

We are asked to say a neat 'hello' to Timothy Limpet, a hairy troll who lives far way, and likes to be tidy, unlike normal trolls who' live in damp, dark, squelchy caves and like to scare the heebie-jeebies out of anyone they can'.

Hodgkinson, Leigh: Troll Swap

If you caught the thriller of the year Contagion in the cinema, you've probably just about got over the heebie-jeebies it gave you enough to watch it again.

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