bed of nails
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of bed of nails
First recorded in 1965–70
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is merely a sleight of hand and a twist of fate, and we're all resting on Bono's bed of nails while we wait for the other shoe to drop.
From Salon • Apr. 7, 2022
You might be surprised to discover that lying on the bed of nails isn’t painful.
From Washington Post • Mar. 30, 2022
In the back, one performer, Alaska, rested on a bed of nails.
From New York Times • Mar. 15, 2020
Reed notes that the priest keeps in his church office two slot machines, one called the “God Game,” and has a stage-prop collection that includes a 14-inch dagger and a bed of nails.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 25, 2019
She fell fast and she fell hard, but what did that matter, since she would have gladly dropped a thousand feet onto a bed of nails if Westley had been waiting at the bottom.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
