up the wall
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up the wall
In a state of intense frustration, vexation, distress, or anxiety. I've been up the wall trying to get this problem with my tax bill resolved. That car alarm next door is driving me up the wall!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
up the wall
Fig. in a very bad situation; very upset or anxious. He's really up the wall about Mary's illness. We were all up the wall until the matter was resolved.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
up the wall
see under drive someone crazy.
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.
up the wall
mod. in a very bad situation. We were all up the wall until the matter was resolved.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
up the wall
Slang Into a state of extreme frustration, anger, or distress: tensions that are driving me up the wall.
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.
up against it/the wall
In trouble. This slangy Americanism of the late nineteenth century uses “it” in a general way to mean any kind of difficulty. When “the wall” is substituted, it may refer to the practice of lining criminals up against a wall, or, more likely, of having one’s back to the wall. “I saw I was up against it,” wrote George Ade (Artie, 1896).
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer