sweat bullets

Idioms and Phrases

Perspire profusely; also, suffer mental anguish. For example, We were sweating bullets, sitting in the sun through all those graduation speeches , or It was their first baby, and David was sweating bullets while Karen was in labor . The bullets in this expression allude to drops of perspiration the size of bullets. [ Slang ; mid-1900s]

Example Sentences

My friend Danny, for example, would sweat bullets while sitting at his position.

From The Daily Beast