have (one's) heart in (one's) mouth
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have (one's) heart in (one's) mouth
To feel very nervous or anxious. I had my heart in my mouth as I waited for the ambulance to arrive.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
have one's heart in one's mouth
Fig. to feel strongly emotional about someone or something. (See also one's heart is in one's mouth.) I had my heart in my mouth when I heard the national anthem.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
heart in one's mouth, have one's
Be extremely frightened or anxious, as in When the plane was about to take off, my heart was in my mouth. This usage alludes to the heart beating so violently that it appears to leap upward. [Mid-1500s]
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.
have your heart in your mouth
be greatly alarmed or apprehensive.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
have (one's) heart in (one's) mouth
To be extremely frightened or anxious.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
heart in one's mouth, to have one's
To be frightened or extremely apprehensive. This term has nothing to do with eat one’s heart out but rather alludes to the heart-pounding and choking feeling of sudden fear. It was already used by Homer in the Iliad (ca. 850 b.c.), “My heart leaps to my mouth,” and appeared in English in Nicholas Udall’s translation of Erasmus (1548): “Hauyng their herte at their verai mouth for feare.” Mark Twain put it more colorfully: “My heart flew into my mouth so suddenly that if I hadn’t clapped my teeth together I should have lost it” (Life on the Mississippi, 1874).
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer