'You're Giving Me the Creeps!'

'You're Giving Me the Creeps¹!'

Now, the VOA Learning² English program Words and Their Stories.

Americans can sometimes begin a sentence with the words “You’re giving me.” This expression usually describes a person’s reaction to a surprise or to something unpleasant.

First, let’s look at an example from the world of business.

What if you are asked to speak to a group of important customers -- people who depend on your product or services? You prepare for your speech, but you still have concerns about how you will perform in front of the group. Minutes before the speech, you might tell a friend that you have “the jitters³.” This means you are worried. Even experienced⁴ performers can get the jitters, especially before a big event.

Creeps, willies and heebie-jeebies -- oh my!

Now, let’s talk about your neighborhood.

What if a stranger lives in a house near your home? The man does not appear normal. He may talk to himself, and even raise his voice at imaginary⁵ things. He makes you very nervous, even fearful⁶. So, you might say “I get the creeps every time he walks by.” Or you could say, “That guy gives me the creeps.”

The willies are a lot like the creeps. You get the willies when you have a nervous feeling, like when you are in a forest and hear something unusual. These sounds give you “the willies.”

Having a nervous feeling can also mean something or someone is giving you “the heebie-jeebies.”.

You might say “I got the heebie-jeebies when I saw him looking at me.” Also, it is a fun word to say - heebie-jeebies.

Goosebumps and butterflies

Sometimes your body shows you what you are feeling in the form of tiny bumps⁷ on your skin called “goosebumps.”

Goosebumps can appear when you are nervous, excited or even very cold. In American English, you might say “I get goosebumps every time I think about it” or “It gives me goosebumps.”

Butterflies are small, often beautiful insects. But they can also be a nervous feeling you get in your stomach, often before a performance of some kind.

You might say “I am looking forward to playing, but I must admit I’ve got butterflies in the pit⁸ of my stomach.”

Sometimes, when a person likes another person romantically, they may say she or he gives them butterflies. They are excited at the thought of being with that person.

Finally, some Americans, when frightened, may use the expression, “you almost gave me a heart attack!” But they are not really having a heart attack. They just mean they were so scared that their heart might have stopped beating. A mother who sees her child fall from a tree might say the experience “almost gave me a heart attack!” In other words, the fall frightened her very badly.

So if someone says they have the jitters, try to help them calm down. Tell them to take a few deep breaths.

If you are told you are giving someone the creeps or the willies or the heebie-jeebies, it might be a good time to consider making some changes. Try not to be so unusual.

If a person tells you that you give them goosebumps or butterflies, it means they like you -- a lot. So, stay the way you are.

In your language how do you say someone is giving you the creeps, or the willies, or the heebie-jeebies? And do you have things like goosebumps or butterflies in the stomach? Let us know what these words are in the comments section!

Christopher Jones-Cruise wrote this report in Learning English.

1 creeps   

n.毛骨悚然的感觉，战栗v.蹑手蹑足地走( creep的第三人称单数 )；缓慢地行进；爬行；匍匐

参考例句：

• Old age creeps upon one unawares. 不知不觉老年就来临了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The rabbit creeps away and hides in a hole. 兔子悄悄溜走，藏进洞里。 来自辞典例句

2 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

3 jitters   

n.pl.紧张(通常前面要有the)

参考例句：

• I always get the jitters before exams. 我考试前总是很紧张。
• The whole city had the jitters from the bombing. 全城居民都为轰炸而心神不宁。

4 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

5 imaginary   

adj.想象中的，假想的，虚构的，幻想的；虚数的

参考例句：

• All the characters in this book are imaginary.此书中的所有人物都是虚构的。
• The boy's fears were only imaginary.这小孩的恐惧只是一种想象。

6 fearful   

adj.惧怕的，担心的；可怕的，吓人的

参考例句：

• What a fearful waste of time!简直太浪费时间了！
• They are fearful of another business depression.他们担心会再次发生商业萧条。

7 bumps   

碰撞( bump的名词复数 )； 肿块； 轻微撞车事故； 隆起物

参考例句：

• I had goose bumps when we watched the fireworks. 我们看烟火的时候，我起鸡皮疙瘩。
• E was kind of zig-zagging across the pavement, and I bumps into 'im accidental-like. 他有点歪歪斜斜地在人行道上走，我一不小心撞到了他的怀里。 来自英汉文学

8 pit   

n.深坑，核，矿井，陷阱，英国剧场正厅后排，凹陷疤痕；vt.使...有伤痕，去...的核，与...较量

参考例句：

• A sheep fell into a pit,and I helped it out.一只羊掉进坑里，我把它弄了出来。
• They dug a pit to bury the rubbish.他们挖了一个坑把垃圾埋掉。