提心吊胆
- Literal
- holding the heart up and hanging the gallbladder
- Figurative
- To be on edge, in constant tension because you are afraid something bad may happen at any moment.
Where does 提心吊胆 come from?
There is no origin story: the image is physical and explains itself. 提 means "to hold up" and 吊 "to leave dangling," so the heart rises and the gallbladder (胆) hangs in midair. In traditional usage the 胆 is the seat of courage, so having it come loose amounts to losing your nerve and bracing for the worst. The phrase is already on record in 《西游记》, Wu Cheng'en's Ming-dynasty novel, describing a group of monks in a fright, and from there it passed into everyday speech.
Source (出处): 吴承恩《西游记》
How is 提心吊胆 used? Two examples
- 孩子还没到家，我一整晚都提心吊胆的。
My kid still wasn't home, and I spent the whole night on edge.
- 那段路又窄又滑，开车的人个个提心吊胆。
That stretch is narrow and slick; everyone driving it goes through white-knuckled.
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