nail-bitingn.
/ˈneɪlˌbʌɪtɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈneɪlˌbaɪdɪŋ/ 1. The action of biting one's nails.
ΚΠ
1805 Mem. & Proc. (Manch. Literary & Philos. Soc.) 237 As nail-biting is intended to fix abstraction, drumming with our fingers is a practice, by which we promote reverie.
1893 Daily News 5 July 5/5 Directing his attention..to the study of nail-biting.
1932 W. H. Auden Orators ii. 56 Three symptoms in convalescence—nail-biting—nightmares—short-sight.
1963 Psychiatry 26 99/2 She noted that her son's nail-biting..ceased when he was given more affection and attention.
1995 Tampa (Florida) Tribune (Nexis) 7 Sept. 6 Studies have shown that nail biting can result in tooth wear, loss of tooth root, microfractures, gum trauma [etc.].
2. Nervousness; worry; suspense. Cf. nail-biting adj. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > fear > nervousness or uneasiness > [noun] > nervousness
nerves1742
nervosity1787
nervousness1798
all-overs1829
nerviness1916
vertical gust1917
wind-up1917
vertical breeze1925
nail-biting1952
1952 T. Bankhead Tallulah: my Autobiogr. v. 108 The Exciters had been moldering for six weeks when my nail-biting was interrupted by a cablegram.
1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 26 May a14 The nail-biting..over how and when the Carter administration would come to the financial aid of this region's subway system is over.
1999 C. Lloyd in Best of Frasier p. vii A honing process which can result in the script being overhauled entirely (hence the nail-biting and ashening of faces).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
nail-bitingadj.
/ˈneɪlˌbʌɪtɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈneɪlˌbaɪdɪŋ/ 1. Of a person: that bites his or her nails. Frequently in extended use: worried, nervous. Cf. to bite one's nails at nail n. Phrases 2d.
ΚΠ
1869 J. B. Ellis Sights & Sounds of National Capital xxvi. 429 Mrs Sprague is..rather a nervous and nail-biting beauty.
1941 A. Koestler Scum of Earth 151 But what was the symbolical meaning of all these..nail-biting..figures?
1959 Ann. Reg. 1958 190 Sinclair Weeks said..that the outlook was ‘far better than the nail-biting pessimists think’.
1999 Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) (Nexis) 29 Mar. 1 f Parents of nail-biting children, good luck.
2. Of an event, situation, etc.: tense, suspenseful.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > state of uncertainty, suspense > [adjective] > full of suspense
suspenseful1656
heart-stopping1888
edge-of-your-seat1922
cliff-hanging1930
cliff-hanging1945
nail-biting1946
cardiac1961
1946 Los Angeles Times 21 Nov. 112/3 Natural melodrama resulting from a U-boat's stalking of an allied freighter..generates enough nail-biting suspense for anyone.
1962 R. Ruark Uhuru i. ii. 15 Sex became a grim pageant of nail-biting frustration on her part.
1982 M. Leapman Yankee Doodles i. 37 After the meeting, there was a tense, nail-biting period of waiting.
1998 I. McMillan I found this Shirt 39 At that time we weren't even promoted, and several nail-biting weeks lay ahead.
Derivatives
ˈnail-ˌbitingly adv. in a manner that causes or reflects great anxiety or tension.
ΚΠ
1958 N.Y. Times 28 Mar. 29/3 All of these dangerous adventures are severely, nail-bitingly tense.
1995 Time Out 6 Dec. 151/4 (advt.) Brennan Street has a cast with a perfectionist's touch and directs with a look-no-hands ease that slowly and nail-bitingly reels you in.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1805adj.1869