like a cat on a hot tin roof

English

Etymology

A simile developed from the behaviour of a cat observed on a hot tin roof.

Pronunciation
  • Audio (AU)(file)

Prepositional phrase

like a cat on a hot tin roof

  1. (simile, colloquial, chiefly US) Jumpy, nervous.

Usage notes

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.

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