Nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs

Meaning

Feeling incredibly precarious, anxious, or in danger of a sudden, clumsy accident. It describes a person who feels like they are about to step on a landmine.

Colorful, hyperbolic

Used in a sentence

• I felt nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs when I had to tell the truth to the judge.
• With all those loose antique vases around, he was nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
• She was nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs during her first formal banquet.