bundle of nerves

B

bundle of nerves
also, bag of nerves

Meaning

• anxious
• an extremely worried and nervous person.
• someone overcome with anxiety, fear, or worry.
• edgy
• fidgety
• uneasy
• fearful
• jittery

Example Sentences

1. The robbery was a frightening experience. Since then, I have been a bundle of nerves.
2. I’m sorry for shouting at you. It’s just that these days, I’m a bundle of nerves.
3. She’s a great musician but a bundle of nerves before performances.
4. Before I took the driving test, I was a bundle of nerves.
5. Look at the poor bundle of nerves shaking because of anxiety.
6. She was a bundle of nerves when getting ready for her first public speaking event.
7. John was a bag of nerves before the interview.
8. She had not looked after toddlers in the past. Therefore, caring for ten toddlers at the daycare made her a bundle of nerves.

Origin

The idiom “bundle of nerves” speaks of the cordlike bundle of fibers consisting of neurons through which motor impulses and sensory stimuli pass between the brain or other body parts. Nerves transmit electrical impulses. The word “nerve” comes directly from the Medieval Latin “nervus” and Old French “nerf,” meaning tendon, bowstring, sinew, or string of a musical instrument. People use the phrase to indicate the close link between the nervous system and anxiety and agitation.

Anxious, Fear, Worry