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collywobbles

[ kol-ee-wob-uhlz ]
/ ˈkɒl iˌwɒb əlz /
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See synonyms for collywobbles on Thesaurus.com
noun (used with a singular or plural verb)Informal.
intestinal cramps or other intestinal disturbances.
a feeling of fear, apprehension, or nervousness.
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Origin of collywobbles

1815–25; coinage presumably based on colic, wobble; see -s3

Words nearby collywobbles

collutory, colluvium, colly, collyr., collyrium, collywobbles, Colmar, Cöln, colo-, coloboma, colobus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

Words related to collywobbles

dithers, heebie-jeebies

How to use collywobbles in a sentence

  • Within five minutes everybody aboard had the galloping collywobbles and the twittering jitters.

    Unwise Child|Gordon Randall Garrett

  • 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

  • Are you takin' those dashed morphia tabloids of Taggart's for bad-water collywobbles again?

    The Dop Doctor|Clotilde Inez Mary Graves

British Dictionary definitions for collywobbles

collywobbles
/ (ˈkɒlɪˌwɒbəlz) /
pl n the collywobbles slang
an upset stomach
acute diarrhoea
an intense feeling of nervousness

Word Origin for collywobbles

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
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