make (one's) flesh creep

(redirected from make my flesh creep)

make (one's) flesh creep

To cause one to feel disgusted, frightened, or unnerved. Having to look at all those surgical photos made my flesh creep. The mere mention of cockroaches makes her flesh creep.

See also: creep, flesh, make

make one's flesh creep

Also, make one's skin crawl. Cause one to shudder with disgust or fear, as in That picture makes my flesh creep, or Cockroaches make my skin crawl. This idiom alludes to the feeling of having something crawl over one's body or skin. The first term appeared in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1727): "Something in their countenance made my flesh creep with a horror I cannot express." The variant dates from the late 1800s.

See also: creep, flesh, make

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.

make your flesh creep

make your flesh crawl

If something or someone makes your flesh creep or makes your flesh crawl, they make you feel uncomfortable because you find them so unpleasant or frightening. I didn't like him the first time I set eyes on him and now I know why. He made my flesh creep. I could see nobody. But they could see me. It made my flesh crawl. Note: You can also say that someone or something makes your skin crawl. Then suddenly she laughed. The sound made his skin crawl.

See also: creep, flesh, make

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

make someone's flesh creep (or crawl)

cause someone to feel fear, horror, or disgust.

See also: creep, flesh, make

make your ˈflesh creep/crawl

make you feel afraid or full of disgust: This is a movie to make your flesh creep. ♢ The way he looked at me made my flesh crawl.