How are you feeling? Excited and ready to go? Well then, this list of excited idioms is just what you need to express yourself.
And just in case someone is getting overexcited, we also have some ways to tell them to calm down. No matter what you need to explain, this extensive list of English idioms about excitement is your go-to guide.
Excited idioms
Ants in your pants
This is a short version of the full saying: Ants in your pants make your belly button dance!
It’s definitely one of the more fun idioms for excitement, to be used when someone (often a child) can’t stop moving around or fidgeting.
“My goodness, stay still! Have you got ants in your pants?”
The thought behind this is that they can’t stop moving as they have ants crawling about in their pants and tickling them!
So excited you could ….
This expression can be completed with many different verbs. I’m so excited I could… Scream? Explode? Cry? Pee? Play around with the different things you feel when you are incredibly excited.
“I can’t wait to get on this rollercoaster. I’m so excited, I could explode!”
Bouncing off the walls
When you are full of energy (from nerves or excitement) or just can’t sit still, people will say you are bouncing off the walls. This is a good saying about children when they have been stuck indoors for too long and need some space to run freely and use up some energy!
“They have been bouncing off the walls all day. I can’t wait for this rain to stop.”
Like a cat on a hot tin roof
Similar to the expression above, this cat idiom is about being unable to sit still or relax. Generally, it’s used to refer to someone who is excited, anxious, or restless about something.
“What’s the matter with you today? You’re acting like a cat on a hot tin roof.”
It’s another fun idiom to picture: A cat on a hot tin roof would be jumping from one leg to another, not wanting to stay still and get burnt.
Chomp / champ at the bit
This idiom comes from the action of horses who literally chomp at the bit (bite their mouthpiece) when they are excited or eager to race. When applied as an excited idiom, it means that someone is keen to do something.
“They’ve been chomping at the bit all day waiting for their new bikes to arrive.”
In American English you may hear ‘champ’ rather than ‘chomp’.
Go the extra mile
When you go the extra mile you put in more effort than is required or expected.
“He really went the extra mile with the party arrangements.”
Heart (is) racing
Physical exertion can get your heart racing, but so can excitement. Use this idiom when you can feel your heart beating faster in anticipation of something.
“I can’t believe I’m finally going to meet this guy tonight. My heart is racing!”
“Just looking at that water slide gets my heart racing.”
This one also features on our list of heart-related idioms.
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
People who are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed are happy, alert, and full of energy. This saying can normally be applied to people who wake up early ready to go, but can also just be used to talk about anyone who is lively and happy.
“I liked the first person we interviewed as they arrived early and seemed bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to me.”
Lick your lips
You may literally lick your lips in excitement or anticipation of something – usually food – but it can be used in a figurative way as well.
“The thought of that pie I’m having for lunch is making me lick my lips.”
There are many more idioms with body parts that we use in English.
Cause (quite) a stir
When you cause a stir you make a bit of a commotion. Something you have said or done has excited, shocked, or upset people. You may add the word ‘quite’ for extra emphasis.
“Well, when she walked into her sister’s wedding wearing a white dress she caused quite a stir”
“Don’t say anything now, we don’t want to cause a stir.”
Don’t confuse this with stir things up, a cooking-related idiom that is more about deliberately causing trouble or unrest.
Put your heart and soul into something
When you are excited or passionate about something and you put a lot of energy or love into it, you can say you put your heart and soul into it.
“I worked all day baking these cookies. I really put my heart and soul into making them.”
Dial it down / back
Not all of these excited idioms are positive. This phrase is actually used when you need someone to calm down a little.
Just as you can turn down a dial to reduce sound or light, when you ask someone to dial it down or back you are asking them to calm down, balance their emotions, or be quieter.
“Oh Steve, I know you are keen to visit grandma but just dial it down in the back of the car.”
There are many more idioms about relaxing and becoming calm for you to explore.
As keen as mustard
Here’s a nice simple saying. To be as keen as mustard is to be very enthusiastic about a task.
“She’s as keen as mustard to join the camp next week.”
Fever pitch
Fever pitch describes a state of heightened excitement, emotion, tension, or anticipation. You’ll often hear it used in relation to sports or any other event that draws a crowd.
“The crowd at the game were at fever pitch today cheering their teams on.”
“When the main act was introduced, the crowd reached fever pitch.”
However, it could also be used as a phrase to describe relationships when there is high tension between two people.
In fact, it’s such a popular expression there is a movie of the same name based on Nick Hornby’s 1992 essay Fever Pitch: A Fan’s Life.
Idioms for excitement
Do nothing by halves
If you doing something ‘by half’ you are only giving it 50% of your time or energy. But if you do nothing by halves, you give everything your full effort, enthusiasm, and energy. You give 100% to the task in question.
“What’s the secret to success in life? Simple: Do nothing by halves.”
Variations of this expression are not do anything by halves and not do things by halves.
“I can’t believe she baked everything from scratch, decorated, and organized the games. She really doesn’t do anything by halves!”
“You should know by now that I don’t do things by halves.”
Color me (something)
Have fun with this expression to show your excitement. It basically means ‘Consider me …’ and is followed by an adjective to describe your feelings. So, next time you are amazed, surprised, or excited, just say use these adjectives at the end of the phrase ‘Color me …’.
“I just heard that Sue is pregnant. Color me surprised!”
Eager beaver
An eager beaver is someone who is willing to work hard, happy to get involved, or simply enthusiastic about the task at hand. They might always be the first one to volunteer for tasks, or the first one to arrive and get started.
“Mike has been ready since 7am. He really is a bit of an eager beaver when it comes to game day!’
This is a good example of an education idiom too; did you have any eager beavers in your class at school?
Fling yourself into something
To fling yourself into something is to work on a task with vigor, passion, and full effort.
“Mark really flung himself into the new project and the results are showing.”
This attitude is reflected in many idioms about positivity, too.
Hold your horses
Here’s another idiom for excited people who need to restrain themselves. When you need someone to wait, calm down, or stop and consider what they are doing, you could tell them to hold their horses.
“Hold your horses guys! I know you are excited, but I just realized I’ve left the tickets in the car.”
Grinning from ear to ear
This is an idiom about happiness just as much as excitement. When something happens (or is going to happen) that puts a big smile on your face, you might be described as grinning from ear to ear.
“I can’t wait to see Alexa tonight. I’m grinning from ear to ear just thinking about it.”
A similar expression is to grin like a Cheshire cat, which has strong connections with the creature described in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – although it probably didn’t originate from this story.
Be there with bells on
There are plenty of excited idioms to over-exaggerate how enthusiastic you are about doing something. When you say you will be there with bells on, you are not only confirming your attendance at an event, but you’re showing how excited you are about it.
“I’ll be there tonight with bells on. I can’t wait.”
Eat, …, sleep, repeat
You have to fill in the gap with this excited idiom! When someone is really passionate about something and does it all day, every day (or at least it seems that way), you can use the phrase eat, …, sleep, repeat.
You can use almost any verb, or even a noun, to fill in the blank. However, it sounds best with a single-syllable word.
“This holiday the lads and I are going to eat, rave, sleep, repeat all week!”
“This eat, game, sleep, repeat lifestyle is going to catch up with you one day.”
As you can see, the completed expression can be used quite flexibly, as an adjective phrase or a verb phrase.
Like a dog with two tails
When a dog wags its tail, it means it’s happy. So, a dog with two tails wagging away must be extra happy. This is why like a dog with two tails is on our list of idioms for excitement!
“When he saw the new camera we bought him, he was like a dog with two tails!”
Find some more fun dog idioms here.
On the edge of your seat
When something has your full attention and you are completely enthralled by it, you might find yourself leaning forward in your seat. The same could happen when you are excited, nervous, or scared about something.
In these situations, we could say you are on the edge of your seat.
“That acrobat had me on the edge of my seat all night.”
Run out of steam
All this excitement has to end at some point. When it does, you might feel like you have run out of steam. This means you have either lost interest or have no energy for the task anymore.
“Sadly, in the last few minutes of the race, she ran out of steam.”
“I’ve been working on building the shed all day but I’ve run out of steam now.”
This is not to be confused with the saying ‘let off steam’, which is more an expression about anger or frustration.
So, let’s ask again. How are you feeling now that you’ve had all of these exciting idioms explained? We hope you have lots of opportunities to use them soon.
Before you go, make sure you understand the difference between ‘excited’ and ‘exciting’ and other -ed and -ing adjectives.
