Idioms

worn to a frazzle

worn to a frazzle

Highly agitated and perhaps exhausted due to having endured prolonged stress. I'm just worn to a frazzle after a week with my relatives. I'm so glad that they're leaving tomorrow! Looking after the kids on my own all weekend left me worn to a frazzle. We all felt worn to a frazzle by the end of the three-day seminar.
See also: frazzle, to, worn
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

worn to a frazzle

In a state of nervous exhaustion, as in The very idea of moving again has us worn to a frazzle. This expression transfers frazzle, which means "a frayed edge," to one's feelings. [Late 1800s]
See also: frazzle, to, worn
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

worn to a frazzle

Reduced to a state of nervous exhaustion. The word frazzle here means a frayed edge. It originated in America and also gave rise to to be frazzled (be nervously exhausted). The expression appears in one of Joel Chandler Harris’s Uncle Remus stories (1881): “Brer Fox dun know Brer Rabbit uv ole, en he know dat sorter game done wo’ ter a frazzle.”
See also: frazzle, to, worn
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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References in periodicals archive
[USA], Aug 11 (ANI): Parents of preemies are usually worn to a frazzle more than other parents when their kids are young, but according to a recent study, there's light at the end of the tunnel.
[USA], Aug 11 ( ANI ): Parents of preemies are usually worn to a frazzle more than other parents when their kids are young, but according to a recent study, there's light at the end of the tunnel.
Preemies' parents as happy as those with full-term babies by adulthood
I've explained babies need lots of care and I'm worn to a frazzle doing my best to keep him and her happy.
Dear Miriam: I'M LEFT HOLDING THE BABY
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