anxious seat

noun

Also called anxious bench .Chiefly North Atlantic States and Southern and South Midland U.S. a seat reserved at a revival meeting for those troubled by conscience and eager for spiritual assistance.
a state of anxiety, especially about the outcome of a vote, negotiation, etc.: Strikers have been in the anxious seat for the last three days.

Origin of anxious seat

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

As it was, the boys were still on the anxious seat, not knowing which way the cat would jump.
Motor Boat Boys Down the Danube | Louis Arundel
Ill turn up some day in the anxious seat when you dont expect me.
A Singular Life | Elizabeth Stuart Phelps
The revival fairly started, the most excitable were soon on the anxious seat.
Eighty Years And More; Reminiscences 1815-1897 | Elizabeth Cady Stanton
All of them were eventually received, though some were kept on the anxious seat and held as probationers for a long time.
The Facts of Reconstruction | John R. Lynch
While Gustavus was thus dickering with the Dalesmen, a far more weighty matter kept him continually on an anxious seat at home.
The Swedish Revolution Under Gustavus Vasa | Paul Barron Watson

Browse