a cat on a hot tin roof

One who is 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."

cat on a hot tin roof

A Southernism that meant someone who was on edge or nervous. The phrase survives as the title of Tennessee Williams's 1955 Pulitzer Prize–winning drama.

See also: cat, hot, on, roof, tin

See also:

cat on a hot tin roof
like a cat on a hot tin roof
be like a cat on a hot tin roof
be on edge
on pins and needles
on edge
het
be dragging (one's) feet
be dragging your feet
on the road to stardom

References in periodicals archive ?

TENNESSEE Williams's tour de force A Cat On A Hot Tin Roof will be performed at Theatr Gwynedd in the coming week.

Curtain Call: Deep South life in raw

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a chain is only as strong as its weakest link
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a change of scenery
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a chicken in every pot
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