提心吊胆

tí xīn diào dǎn

on tenterhooks

Character by character

提tí
lift

心xīn
heart

吊diào
hang

胆dǎn
gall

孩子还没回家，她提心吊胆地等着。

Her child still wasn't home, and she waited on tenterhooks.

Tone: neutral.

Heart lifted and gall hanging: steady dread while waiting; pairs with 等 and 过日子.

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