on pins and needles

English

Pronunciation

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Prepositional phrase

on pins and needles

1. (idiomatic) Feeling sharp anticipation or anxiety; in a state of suspense.
   • 1889, Mark Twain, chapter 6, in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court:

     Merlin hesitated a moment or two, and I was on pins and needles during that little while.

   • 1923, Hugh Lofting, chapter 1, in The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, part 5:

     I was on pins and needles of expectation and curiosity.

Synonyms

• on tenterhooks

Related terms

• pins and needles

Translations

Translations

• Catalan: amb l'ai al cor (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 焦慮不安／焦虑不安 (zh) (jiāolǜbù'ān), 提心吊膽／提心吊胆 (zh) (tíxīndiàodǎn), 如坐針氈／如坐针毡 (zh) (rúzuòzhēnzhān)

• Danish: på stikkerne, oppe på lakridserne
• Dutch: op hete kolen
• Hungarian: tűkön ül (hu), alig vár (hu)
• Irish: ar bís
• Italian: sui carboni ardenti, in sospeso, sulle spine
• Romanian: ca pe ace
• Scottish Gaelic: air bhioran
• Spanish: en ascuas, en vilo (es)
• Turkish: diken üstünde

See also

• like a cat on a hot tin roof or like a cat on hot bricks
• in limbo