Climb the wall.
/klɑɪm ðə wɔl/
Climb the wall.
/klɑɪm ðə wɔl/
When someone says they're about to "climb the wall," they aren't literally preparing to scale a vertical surface. This idiom vividly expresses a sense of extreme restlessness or anxiety. Picture being so overwhelmed or bored that the only escape seems to be climbing up the walls of the room! It's often used to describe the feeling of being so agitated or anxious that one must expend that energy somehow, even if it means doing something as absurd as climbing a wall. Imagine being stuck indoors on a rainy day with a bursting energy level; that's when someone might figuratively start "climbing the walls.
Stuck at home, I started to feel like I was climbing the wall.
The person was feeling extremely restless or anxious due to being confined at home.
During the long meeting, he felt like climbing the wall.
He was getting very restless or feeling anxious because the meeting was so prolonged.
She was so anxious during the interview process, it was like she was climbing the wall.
Her anxiousness during the interview made her feel extremely restless.