Meaning of Idiom ‘Butterflies in Your Stomach’
To have butterflies in your stomach means to feel nervous or anxious and have a queasy or ‘fluttering’ feeling in your gut. This idiom may describe nervous anticipation, such as felt before going on stage to perform. In fact, it is often used to describe ‘stagefright.’
There are several different variations or simplified versions of this idiom, such as:
- A case of butterflies – if something makes you nervous, it ‘gives you a case of butterflies.’
- Butterflies – The simplest version of this idiom. If you are nervous you have butterflies.
Origin of Butterflies in Your Stomach
The exact origin of this idiom is unknown but it has been used since at least the 1930s. It alludes, in an imaginative way, to how you might feel if butterflies were fluttering around in your stomach.
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Sentence Examples
“The first time I went on stage I had butterflies in my stomach. The last time I went on stage, same thing.”
“Looking down from a height always gives me butterflies.”
“Sarah had a case of butterflies at the beginning of the interview, but she soon relaxed once she realized how down to Earth Mr. Harold was.”
More Idioms Starting with B
- Broken Reed Meaning (Idiom)
- Being Ugly (or Acting Ugly) Meaning
- Beau Brummel Meaning and Origin
- Black Friday Meaning and Origin
- Bide One’s Time Meaning
More Body Part Idioms
- Wet Behind the Ears Meaning
- Go Belly Up
- Stand On Someone’s Shoulders
- In One’s Face
- Give Someone the Cold Shoulder
- Know Something Like the Back Of One’s Hand Meaning
- Out of the Corner of One’s Eye
More Stomach Idioms
- Turn One’s Stomach
- Strong Stomach (have a)
- Have No Stomach for Something
- An Army Marches on Its Stomach