like a cat on a hot tin roof

English

Etymology

A simile developed from the behaviour of a cat observed on a hot tin roof.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Prepositional phrase

like a cat on a hot tin roof

1. (simile, colloquial, chiefly US) Jumpy, nervous.

Usage notes

Originally phrased as like a cat on hot bricks, but this form is less common because of the 1955 play and subsequent movie titled Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.