heebie-jeebies

Meaning

A general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea.

Synonyms

jitters

screaming meemies

habdabs

fretfulness

nerves

nervousness

queasiness

skittishness

stew

🍲

trepidation

uneasiness

worry

anxiety

dis-ease

creeps

fidgetiness

Translations

desassossec

Schneidigkeit

Sorge

Unruhe

affres

angoisse

anxiété

inquiétude

souci

préoccupations

preoccupazione

inquietude

angustia

ansia

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈhiː.biːˌdʒiː.biːz/

Etymology

The earliest found occurrences of spelling variants (it is not established whether the first one coined the term or committed to print an earlier oral expression):
* In 1923, the spelling "heeby jeebys" was used by U.S. cartoonist Billy De Beck in his comic strip Barney Google (New York American, 26 October 1923).
* In 1925, the spelling "heebee-jeebees" was used in U.S. magazine Ladies' Home Journal (Vol. 42, Part 2, p. 44).
* In 1926, the spelling "heebie jeebies" was used by U.S. singer Louis Armstrong for his single "Heebie Jeebies" (written by Boyd Atkins).
* In 1928, the spelling "heebee-geebees" was used in U.S. article "We All Have the Heebee-Geebees" by G. M. Keller of Swift & Company (Modern School Store, Vol. 11, p. 269 via Google Books).
* In 1956, the spelling "heeby jeebies" was used by U.S. singer Little Richard on the cover of his homonymous SP record (and the hyphenated spelling "heeby-jeebies" on its vinyl disc itself).