on pins and needles
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In a state of anxiety or tense expectation: “Jackie was on pins and needles waiting to hear about her job application.”
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Words nearby on pins and needles
on one's way, on order, on pain of, on paper, on-peak, on pins and needles, on principle, on purpose, ONR, on-ramp, on-record
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
How to use on pins and needles in a sentence
Other Idioms and Phrases with on pins and needles
on pins and needles
Nervously anxious, as in He was on pins and needles, waiting for the test results. The graphic expression pins and needles for the tingling sensation experienced in recovering from numbness was transferred to a feeling of marked mental uneasiness about 1800.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.