like a cat on a hot tin roof
English edit
Etymology edit
A simile developed from the behaviour of a cat observed on a hot tin roof.
Pronunciation edit
Audio (AU) (file)
Prepositional phrase edit
- (simile, colloquial, chiefly US) Jumpy, nervous.
Usage notes edit
Originally phrased as like a cat on hot bricks, but this form is less common because of the 1955 play and subsequent movie titled Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.