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collywobbles

[kol-ee-wob-uh lz]
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noun (used with a singular or plural verb) Informal.
  1. intestinal cramps or other intestinal disturbances.
  2. a feeling of fear, apprehension, or nervousness.
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Origin of collywobbles

1815–25; coinage presumably based on colic, wobble; see -s3
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

heebie-jeebiescollywobbles

Examples from the Web for collywobbles

Historical Examples

  • We took it out by staring Driggs almost into the collywobbles.

    At Good Old Siwash

    George Fitch

  • Let's get out of here; this place gives me the collywobbles.

    Native Son

    T. D. Hamm

British Dictionary definitions for collywobbles

collywobbles

pl n the collywobbles slang
  1. an upset stomach
  2. acute diarrhoea
  3. an intense feeling of nervousness
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Word Origin

C19: probably from New Latin cholera morbus the disease cholera, influenced through folk etymology by colic and wobble
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for collywobbles

n.

1823, fanciful formation from colic and wobble.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper