to sweat bricks
- idiom
- Informal
:
estar muy nervioso
- I always sweat bricks before a big presentation.
Examples
-
I was sweating bricks before my driving test results came in.
-
We sweated bricks while waiting to hear if we'd made the team.
-
She always sweats bricks before public performances.
-
She sweats bricks when she has to speak in public.
-
I was sweating bricks while waiting for my job interview to start.
-
He always sweats bricks before every exam he takes.
-
She sweated bricks anticipating the outcome of the competition.
Synonyms
5
8.8
To feel very nervous before something difficult or scary
To feel nervous and worried before something happens
To feel anxious or nervous before something happens
Antonyms
How Nervous
272
2.3
- Informal
∞
1.3
3
3.8
∞
1.0
73
1.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
sweat + bricks
The verb 'sweat' clearly signals perspiration and nervousness, but 'bricks' is a metaphorical, incongruent element that does not contribute a literal, compositional meaning. Because the intensity is conveyed hyperbolically rather than through a predictable compositional rule, a B1 learner who knows the words might guess the general sense (extreme nervousness) but would not reliably derive the exact idiomatic meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
Sweat bricks may come from a clear picture: imagine you are so nervous that even hard bricks would be wet from sweat. That's why it means 'to feel extremely anxious'.