make one's hair stand on end



make one's hair stand on end

Also, make one's hair curl. Terrify one, as in The very thought of an earthquake makes my hair stand on end, or Diving off a high board is enough to make my hair curl. The first term, first recorded in 1534, alludes to goose pimples prompted by fear, which cause the hairs around them to stand up. The variant dates from the mid-1900s.
See also: end, hair, make, on, stand

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
OswaldAHZ-wawld (English), AWS-vahlt (German)English, German, Anglo-Saxon
DorteDOR-teDanish
FranjoFRAH-nyoCroatian, Serbian
KĘStutis-Lithuanian
Arlene[a:'li:n]
Boguslav-Medieval Slavic