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on the rack

Under great stress, as in I was on the rack while I waited for the test results. This expression, alluding to a medieval instrument of torture to which the victim was fastened and stretched, has been used figuratively since the late 1500s. Shakespeare had it in The Merchant of Venice (3:2): “Let me choose, for as I am I live upon the rack.”

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Nearby words

  1. on the part of,
  2. on the point of,
  3. on the prowl,
  4. on the q.t.,
  5. on the qui vive,
  6. on the rebound,
  7. on the receiving end,
  8. on the right foot, get off,
  9. on the right tack,
  10. on the road
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.