heebie-jeebies
noun (informal)

- a state of nervous fear, anxiety, apprehension, or unease

Oxford Languages

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PHRASE ORIGIN

The phrase "heebie-jeebies" is widely attributed to American cartoonist William Morgan "Billy" DeBeck in whose comic strip "Barney Google" it appeared on October 26, 1923, in the New York American newspaper.

After its introduction in the comic strip, "heebie-jeebies" quickly gained popularity:

- It appeared in other newspapers within days, suggesting it was already familiar to readers.
- By 1924, it was being used in advertisements, indicating widespread recognition.
- In 1926, Louis Armstrong recorded a famous song titled "Heebie Jeebies”, further popularizing the term.

Several spelling variations emerged in the early years:

- "heeby jeebys" (1923)
- "heebee-jeebees" (1925)
- "heebie jeebies" (1926)
- "heebee-geebees" (1928)

"Heebie-jeebies" emerged during a time when rhyming reduplication was popular in American English belongs to a category of expressions called “rhyming redupicates”.

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SPICE UP YOUR SPEECH

English is awash with rhyming reduplicates,… nice phrases with which to enliven your conversation:

- abra-cadabra = a magic word used historically as an incantation, commonly associated with magical performances, meaning "I will create as I speak".

- dilly-dally = to waste time, especially by being slow or procrastinating.

- fuddy-duddy = a person who is fussy, old-fashioned, traditionalist, conformist or conservative, sometimes almost to the point of eccentricity or geekiness.

- helter-skelter = done quickly and in a disorganized way; in a state of confusion or disorder.

- hocus-pocus = trickery, an incantation used by magicians, or language intended to deceive or confuse people.

- hoity-toity = pretentious or snobbish behavior; showing an air of superiority.

- itsy-bitsy = very small; tiny

- mumbo-jumbo = confusing or meaningless language, often used to criticize overly complicated ideas or activities.

- namby-pamby = insipid, sentimental, lacking vigor or decisiveness; weak; wishy-washy.

- oopsy-daisy = an exclamation of surprise or apology, often used when someone is clumsy or after a child falls.

- razzle-dazzle = showiness or flashy activity intended to impress or confuse, commonly used in contexts like theater and sports.

- super-duper = an informal term describing something that is extremely great, impressive, or excellent.

- teenie-weenie = very small; tiny; often used humorously or in childlike context.

- willy-nilly = in a disorganized or unplanned manner; whether one wishes to or not; haphazardly.

- wishy-washy = lacking firm ideas or decisiveness; weak or ineffective; describes something that is pale and unexciting.

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SYNONYMS

Agita, agitation, all-overs, angst, ants in one's pants, ants in your pants, anxiety, apprehension, being rattled, being spooked, being unnerved, botheration, butterflies, butterflies in one's stomach, butterflies in the stomach, care, case of nerves, cold feet, cold sweat, collywobbles, concern, creeps, disquiet, disquietude, distress, dither, doubt, downer, drag, dread, feeling on edge, fidgets, fits, flap, flutters, fluttery feeling, foreboding, freak-out, fretfulness, funk, fuss, getting the willies, goose bumps, goose pimples, goosebumps, hair-raising feeling, having a case of the nerves, having a touch of the vapours, having the shakes, HEEBIE-JEEBIES, jimjams, jitters, jumps, kind of creepy, kind of spooky, losing one's nerve, misery, misgiving, mistrust, nail-biting, needles, nerve, nerves, nervous energy, nervous shakes, nervousness, not feeling up to it, panic, panic attack, pins and needles, queasiness, restlessness, screaming-meemies, shakes, shivers, solicitude, spine-chilling feeling, spooked, spooks, squirmy feeling, suffering, suspense, sweat, sweating bullets, sweaty palms, tension, the chills, the creeps, the shakes, the willies, tizzy, tremors, trepidation, trouble, uncertainty, unease, uneasiness, uneasy feeling, unnerved feeling, watchfulness, whim-whams, willies, worriment, worry, worry warts, worrywart moment, yips

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“Netflix thriller movies were giving her THE HEEBIE-JEEBIES,... she’s become much calmer since having stopped watching them.”

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