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.
Equity may be comfortable for now — but debt is a bed of nails.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
Most intriguing are the lines scored down the length of the strip, possibly by a rake or even a bed of nails.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2024
Formed of 20 metal posts wrapped in upholstered foam cylinders, it functions loosely like a soft-touch bed of nails.
From New York Times ● Apr. 15, 2024
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
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.
