climb the walls

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

climb the walls (third-person singular simple present climbs the walls, present participle climbing the walls, simple past and past participle climbed the walls)

1. (idiomatic) To behave in a distressed or frantic manner; to exhibit great agitation.
   • 1968 July 5, “Never Like Anyone Else”, in Time:

     There are purists who climb the walls when German Conductor-Organist-Harpsichordist Karl Richter performs Bach. . . . To them, imagination—and Richter has plenty—is the ultimate transgression.

   • 1989, Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Free Press:

     Or maybe we could locate a place to camp and fish that would be close to your mother. The area wouldn't be as nice, but we could still be outdoors and meet other needs as well. And the boys wouldn't be climbing the walls.

Translations

behave in a distressed or frantic manner

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: hyppiä seinille
• French: please add this translation if you can

References

• “climb the walls”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.