jitters
noun

- a feeling of nervousness, which you experience before something important happens

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

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YOU CAN’T DANCE!

Although some people claim to have "nerves of steel," many get the jitters before speaking or performing in public, for instance. The jitters, or stage fright as it is also called, can happen to even the most veteran performer before the curtain goes up.

One evening after World War II, the legendary ballerina Margot Fonteyn attended a ball in Paris.

"I was fascinated as I watched the dancers," she later recalled. "One of them invited me on to the floor. I thought it rude to refuse, and despite having the JITTERS stepped out, trying to follow his rhythm and movement.

He steered me once around the hall then returned me to my table saying, 'You're an attractive girl, it's too bad you can't dance.'"

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SYNONYMS

ants (in your pants), anxiety, butterflies (in the stomach), collywobbles, dithers, in a cold sweat, fluster, in a flap, in a tizzy, nerves, the fidgets, the heebie-jeebies, the shakes, the shivers, tenseness, the willies

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PRACTICE OWAD in an English conversation, discuss something like:

“It’s normal to get THE JITTERS when presenting to a large group, but this feeling usually disappears after a few minutes.”

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Paul Smith