walk-on-eggshells

Verb

(third-person singular simple present walks on eggshells, present participle walking on eggshells, simple past and past participle walked on eggshells)

(idiomatic) To be overly careful in dealing with a person or situation because they get angry or offended very easily; to try very hard not to upset someone or something.
(idiomatic) To be careful and sensitive, in handling very sensitive matters.

Origin

1800's usage, probably from the imagery that eggshells are easily broken.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"walk-on-eggshells." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/walk-on-eggshells>.

APA Style

walk-on-eggshells. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/walk-on-eggshells

walk-on-eggshells

Also Mentioned In

WORDS NEAR walk-on-eggshells IN THE DICTIONARY

walk-on-eggshells

Also Mentioned In

WORDS NEAR walk-on-eggshells IN THE DICTIONARY

Join YourDictionary today