cat on a hot tin roof
1
9.6
- idiom
- Informal
:
nervioso como un gato en un tejado caliente
- During the interview, I felt like a cat on a hot tin roof, shifting in my seat and unable to focus.
Examples
-
I feel all the time like a cat on a hot tin roof.
-
I suggest we all stop tiptoeing around her like a cat on a hot tin roof, you know?
-
With deadlines approaching, she was as anxious as a cat on a hot tin roof all week.
-
After hearing the startling news, he paced back and forth like a cat on a hot tin roof.
Synonyms
11
8.0
A nervous, excited feeling about something unimportant
8
4.8
Unable to stay still because you feel nervous
4
8.6
Feeling very nervous and confused about something
2
7.0
Feeling nervous and upset because of stress or embarrassment
1
9.9
Very nervous and unable to stay still because of worry or excitement
1
9.9
Feeling nervous and restless before an important event
Antonyms
How Restless
Surface Forms
Morphology
cat + on + a + hot + tin + roof
The meaning is directly derived from the literal image: a cat standing on a hot tin roof would be unable to stay still, so this maps straightforwardly to a person who is restless or anxious. The metaphor is vivid and compositional, so an average B1 learner who knows the constituent words can readily infer the idiomatic sense.
Etymology
Cat on a hot tin roof comes from the image of a cat on a hot tin roof that must keep moving and jumping to avoid the heat. That's why it means 'extremely restless or anxious'.