heart in one's mouth
1
7.3
- idiom
- Informal
:
tener el corazón en la boca
- As the roller coaster climbed higher, I could feel my heart in my mouth from the anticipation.
Examples
-
It is with my heart in my mouth that I set about an unceremonious description of those close to me: with my heart in my mouth and panic in my mind, for there's not much that I know.
Fiction book (2000) -
But helpless as I was, I continued to sit in that very spot with my heart in my mouth.
Fiction book (1993) -
Slowly, my heart in my mouth, I touched the keys and picked out the words, "WHO ARE YOU?"
Fiction book (1999) -
I leave Russia empty-handed, with cold feet and my heart in my mouth.
Fiction book (2002) -
when the first big sets come marching through, out you paddle with your heart in your mouth.
-
To be sure, he spoke, but he spoke with his heart in his mouth; he spoke of everything that had awakened inside that tousled head.
Fiction book (1994) -
He peered through the window, heart in his mouth.
Fiction book (1992) -
It is with my heart in my mouth that I set about an unceremonious description of those close to me: with my heart in my mouth and panic in my mind, for there's not much that I know.
Fiction book (2000) -
Back in Baghdad, the young Chilean, with his heart in his mouth, established six drops, mainly behind loose bricks in old walls or ruined houses, under flagstones in back alleys, and one under a stone windowsill of a derelict shop.
Fiction book (1994) -
When I heard the unexpected knock at the door, my heart in my mouth wondered who it could be.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
An unpleasant feeling of being afraid because something seems dangerous
36
2.7
A feeling of being worried or anxious
32
4.4
A feeling of fear or worry that something bad may happen
23
8.1
A feeling of fear or worry about something that may happen
5
7.1
A nervous, excited feeling while waiting for something to happen
4
5.8
A sudden nervous feeling in your stomach when you expect bad news
Antonyms
How Anxious
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase uses a bodily-metaphor combining 'heart' (emotion) with location 'in one's mouth', which evokes a vivid physical sensation of sudden fear and is therefore partially inferable from the constituents. However, the precise idiomatic sense 'extremely anxious or fearful' is metaphorical and not fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure, even though similar metaphors occur in other languages.
Etymology
Heart in one's mouth may come from the strong physical feeling of fear when it seems your heart jumps up toward your mouth or throat. That's why the phrase means 'feeling very anxious or scared'.