(as) swift as a deer
Incredibly swiftly or speedily. The shoppers ran through the mall swift as deer in search of great deals. Swift as a deer, Mary finished her exam and raced out of the classroom. I'm not sure who that boy was. I couldn't get a good enough look at his face before he bolted out of our yard swift as a deer.
a deer in (the) headlights
Someone caught in a state of paralyzing surprise, fear, or bewilderment. Likened to the tendency of deer to freeze in place in front of an oncoming vehicle. Often used in the phrase "like a deer in the headlights." Mary turned into a deer in the headlights when she forgot her lines in the middle of the play. He froze like a deer in the headlights when I caught him taking money out of the register. When she asked me to marry her, I could only stand there like a deer in the headlights.
be like a deer caught in the headlights
To be visibly startled and frozen in fear. I was like a deer caught in the headlights when my mom asked about that hideous sweater she gave me. When the security alarm started blaring, the burglar was like a deer caught in the headlights. My parents found me trying to sneak out, and what could I say? I was like a deer caught in the headlights.
deer-in-headlights
used before a noun Of or describing a paralyzed manner or appearance, as due to surprise, fear, shock, or bewilderment. Likened to the tendency of deer to freeze in place in front of an oncoming vehicle. He had this dopey deer-in-headlights look on his face when I asked him where the money had gone. He had a deer-in-headlights reaction when I caught him taking money out of the register. Jeremy gave me a real deer-in-headlights look when I started talking about his crush on Jenn—who had apparently walked into the room behind me.
like a deer in (the) headlights
In a state or manner of paralyzing surprise, fear, or bewilderment. Likened to the tendency of deer to freeze in place in front of an oncoming vehicle. When she asked me to marry her, I could only stand there like a deer in headlights. He froze like a deer in the headlights when I caught him taking money out of the register.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
like a rabbit caught in the headlights
or like a deer caught in the headlights
If someone is like a rabbit caught in the headlights or like a deer caught in the headlights, they are so frightened or nervous that they do not know what to do. He just sat there, like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Diane fixes me with her cold, blue eyes: I am the proverbial deer caught in the headlights. Note: This expression is very variable. For example, you can just say that someone is caught or frozen in the headlights. He was caught in the headlights as he attempted to answer a string of questions about his relationship. The best thing for a writer caught in the headlights of unexpected celebrity is simply to keep writing and publishing. Note: Animals such as rabbits or deer sometimes remain still because they do not know which way to run when the light from a vehicle's headlights shines on them at night.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012