On this page13 sections
- Quick picker
- Excitement about good news
- Excitement about something coming
- Eager to start
- Excitement mixed with suspense
- Lively, buzzing or overexcited
- Idioms for having a great time
- Tone and register
- Using excitement idioms in stories
- The opposite: idioms for a lack of excitement
- Idioms that are easy to misuse
- Practice
- Quick answers
The most useful idioms for excitement are over the moon (thrilled about good news), on cloud nine (blissfully happy), can’t wait and counting down the days (excited about something coming), chomping at the bit and raring to go (eager to start), like a kid in a candy store (excited by lots of choice), on the edge of your seat (gripped by suspense) and bouncing off the walls (too excited to stay still). They split into four groups: excitement about something that has happened, excitement about something coming, eagerness to start, and nervous or overexcited energy. Each group is below with meanings, examples, notes on tone and the idioms that do not mean what people think.
For what makes these idioms rather than plain metaphors, see our figurative language guide. This page focuses on choosing and using the expressions.
Quick picker
- Thrilled by good news: over the moon, on cloud nine, thrilled to bits, on top of the world, walking on air, jump for joy, tickled pink
- Looking forward to something: can’t wait, counting down the days, looking forward to it like a child to Christmas, can hardly contain yourself
- Eager to start or act: chomping (champing) at the bit, raring to go, itching to, keen as mustard, leap at the chance, eager beaver
- Gripped by suspense: on the edge of your seat, on tenterhooks, with bated breath, on pins and needles
- Lively or overexcited: bouncing off the walls, full of beans, buzzing, hyped, pumped, wound up
- Having a great time: have a blast, have a whale of a time, get a kick out of
Excitement about good news
These describe the joy after something good has happened: a result, a proposal, a new job, a birth. Most are informal and work well in conversation, messages and personal writing.
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| over the moon | extremely pleased; very common in British English | She was over the moon when she got into medical school. |
| on cloud nine | blissfully happy, often for some time after the news | He’s been on cloud nine since the baby was born. |
| thrilled to bits | very pleased; British, informal (not “thrill to bits”) | Gran was thrilled to bits with the photo book. |
| on top of the world | very happy and confident | After the race, I felt on top of the world. |
| walking on air / floating on air | so happy you feel light | She walked on air for a week after he proposed. |
| jump for joy | be very happy; often used in the negative too | The kids jumped for joy when they saw the snow. / I didn’t exactly jump for joy at the news. |
| tickled pink | delighted, especially by something small or funny | Dad was tickled pink that the waiter remembered his name. |
| in seventh heaven | in a state of perfect happiness | With a stack of books and a quiet beach, she was in seventh heaven. |
| grinning from ear to ear | smiling widely because you are happy | He came out of the interview grinning from ear to ear. |
| made my day | made me very happy (said of one thing) | Your message made my day. |
Over the moon is often traced to the nursery rhyme “Hey Diddle Diddle”, in which the cow jumps over the moon. The exact origins of cloud nine are uncertain; it became popular in American English in the 1950s.
Excitement about something coming
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| can’t wait | be very excited about something in the future | I can’t wait to see you next week. |
| counting down the days | eagerly waiting, checking how long is left | We’re counting down the days to our holiday. |
| can hardly contain yourself | be so excited it is hard to stay calm | The night before the trip, my son could hardly contain himself. |
| like a child at Christmas | full of excited anticipation (a simile) | She checked the tracking page like a child at Christmas. |
| looking forward to something (no end) | anticipating happily; “no end” is informal British | I’m looking forward to the concert no end. |
| all agog | very eager to hear or see something; a little old-fashioned | The whole village was all agog to meet the new vicar. |
Grammar note: “look forward to” takes a noun or an -ing verb: I’m looking forward to meeting you, not “to meet you”. “Can’t wait” takes to + verb: I can’t wait to meet you.
Eager to start
These are about wanting to begin or act. They suit sport, work, travel and new projects.
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| chomping at the bit / champing at the bit | impatient to start, like a horse biting its bit | The new players were chomping at the bit to get on the pitch. |
| raring to go | ready and very eager to start | After a good night’s sleep, I was raring to go. |
| itching to do something | wanting very much to do it | She was itching to tell everyone her news. |
| keen as mustard | very eager and enthusiastic; British, old-fashioned | The new intern is keen as mustard. |
| leap at the chance / jump at the chance | accept an opportunity eagerly | When they offered him a year in Tokyo, he leapt at the chance. |
| an eager beaver | a very enthusiastic, hard-working person; can sound mildly teasing | The eager beaver in accounts had finished the report by Tuesday. |
| pumped (up) | full of excited energy; informal, American | The team was pumped for the final. |
| fired up | excited and determined | Everyone left the meeting fired up about the launch. |
Champing or chomping? “Champing at the bit” is the older form and is still preferred in careful British writing; “chomping at the bit” is now more common in speech and in American English. Both are accepted.
Excitement mixed with suspense
Sometimes excitement is nervous: you are waiting for a result, the end of a match or the last chapter. These idioms keep the uncertainty.
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| on the edge of your seat | very interested and excited, especially by a story or game | The last ten minutes of the match had us on the edge of our seats. |
| on tenterhooks | anxiously waiting for news | We were on tenterhooks until the exam results came out. |
| with bated breath | waiting anxiously or eagerly (not “baited”) | Fans are waiting with bated breath for the final book. |
| on pins and needles | nervous and impatient while waiting; American mainly | She was on pins and needles all through the audition. |
| butterflies in your stomach | a nervous, fluttering feeling before something exciting | I had butterflies in my stomach before my first date. |
On tenterhooks comes from cloth-making: wet cloth was stretched on a frame called a tenter, held by hooks, so being on tenterhooks is being stretched tight with worry. Bated is a shortened form of “abated” – breath held back – which is why “baited breath” is a spelling mistake.
Lively, buzzing or overexcited
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| bouncing off the walls | too excited or energetic to stay still, often of children | After the birthday cake, the kids were bouncing off the walls. |
| full of beans | lively and energetic; British | He’s eighty but still full of beans. |
| buzzing | excited and energetic; very common in informal British speech | I was buzzing after the concert. |
| like a kid in a candy store (US) / sweet shop (UK) | thrilled by having lots of good things to choose from | In the camera shop, my brother was like a kid in a candy store. |
| hyped / hyped up | very excited; informal, younger speakers | Everyone’s hyped for the new album. |
| wound up | tense and overexcited (or annoyed, in British English) | The puppy gets so wound up when visitors arrive. |
Idioms for having a great time
- have a blast – have a very good time: We had a blast at the festival.
- have a whale of a time – enjoy yourself enormously; British: The children had a whale of a time at the farm.
- get a kick out of something – enjoy it a lot: She gets a kick out of solving crosswords before breakfast.
- the time of your life – the best experience you have ever had: I had the time of my life in Lisbon.
Tone and register
- Formal or professional writing: most of these are too casual. In a cover letter or work email, say I am very much looking forward to, I was delighted to hear, I would welcome the opportunity. “Raring to go” can work in a friendly team email; “over the moon” works in a company announcement about good news. See also other ways to say “I’m excited about the opportunity”.
- British vs American: over the moon, thrilled to bits, buzzing, full of beans, keen as mustard, whale of a time sound British. Pumped, stoked, on pins and needles sound American (stoked is also common in Australia).
- Old-fashioned: all agog, keen as mustard, tickled pink, in high feather sound dated. They can be charming in fiction or for an older character, but they may sound odd in a teenager’s mouth.
- One per sentence: “I’m over the moon and on cloud nine, walking on air” is three ways of saying the same thing. Pick one.
Using excitement idioms in stories
In fiction, an idiom tells the reader how a character feels; an action shows it. The two work best together, with the idiom in dialogue and the action in the narration.
- Telling only: Maya was over the moon about the letter.
- Showing: Maya read the letter twice, then ran down the stairs with it still in her hand.
- Both, naturally: Maya ran down the stairs, waving the letter. “I got in! I’m over the moon!”
Idioms in dialogue also help to build a character’s voice. A grandfather who says “I’m tickled pink” and a teenager who says “I’m so hyped” are already different people before the reader learns anything else about them. Choose the idiom your character would actually use, not the one you would.
For suspense, the idioms usually describe the reader as much as the characters. “On the edge of your seat” belongs in a review or blurb; inside the story, show the tension instead: a held breath, a phone checked again, hands that will not stay still.
The opposite: idioms for a lack of excitement
- not jump for joy / not exactly thrilled – unenthusiastic, usually said with irony: I wasn’t exactly thrilled about working on Saturday.
- a damp squib (UK) – an event that was expected to be exciting but disappointed: The fireworks display was a bit of a damp squib.
- leave someone cold – fail to interest or excite them: Football leaves me cold.
- bored stiff / bored to tears – extremely bored.
- a wet blanket – a person who spoils other people’s excitement: Don’t be such a wet blanket – come to the party.
Idioms that are easy to misuse
- “High as a kite” usually means drunk or on drugs, not just excited. Use it about excitement only if you are sure your listener will hear it as a joke.
- “Laughing all the way to the bank” means making a lot of money, often from something others criticised. It is not about general excitement.
- “Happy-go-lucky” describes a relaxed, cheerful personality, not a moment of excitement.
- “Bracing yourself” means preparing for something difficult or unpleasant – the opposite of happy anticipation.
- “Anxious to” can mean eager (“anxious to see the results”) but also worried. When the feeling is purely happy, eager to is clearer.
- “Tickled to death” means very pleased, but many listeners find the “death” part strange; “tickled pink” is safer.
- “Thrill to bits” is wrong; the idiom is thrilled to bits, and it describes a person: I’m thrilled to bits.
- Phrases such as “in high feather”, “singing from the rooftops” and “sparkling with enthusiasm” appear in some lists but are rare or garbled. The real idiom is shout it from the rooftops, which means announce something publicly.
Practice
Choose the best idiom.
- The new recruits were ______ to start their first shift.
- She was ______ when her daughter got the scholarship.
- We waited ______ for the winner to be announced.
- After three fizzy drinks, the kids were ______.
- In the bookshop’s sale, he was like ______.
- Only two weeks left! We’re ______ to the wedding.
- When the firm offered her the post in Paris, she ______.
- Everyone expected the launch party to be amazing, but it was a ______.
Answers
- raring to go / chomping (champing) at the bit
- over the moon / thrilled to bits / on cloud nine
- with bated breath / on tenterhooks
- bouncing off the walls
- a kid in a candy store (sweet shop)
- counting down the days
- leapt (jumped) at the chance
- damp squib
Quick answers
What is the most common idiom for excitement?
Over the moon for good news, and can’t wait for something coming. Both are understood everywhere English is spoken.
How do you say you are excited in a formal way?
I am delighted, I am very much looking forward to, I am pleased to accept. Idioms rarely belong in formal writing.
Which excitement idioms are safe at work?
Looking forward to, delighted, raring to go and leap at the chance are fine in most workplaces, especially in speech or a friendly team message. Over the moon suits good-news announcements. Avoid stoked, hyped, buzzing and pumped with clients or senior people you do not know well, and never use high as a kite at work.
Which idioms describe excited children?
Bouncing off the walls, can hardly contain themselves, like a kid in a candy store, jumping for joy, can’t sit still and beside themselves with excitement. “Beside yourself” alone often means very upset, so add “with excitement” if that is what you mean.
Are there metaphors and similes for excitement too?
Yes, such as “fizzing with excitement” (a metaphor, comparing a person to a fizzy drink) or “like a dog with two tails” (a simile). See metaphors for excitement, similes for excitement and idioms for happiness.