climb the walls

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climb the walls (third-person singular simple present climbs the walls, present participle climbing the walls, simple past and past participle climbed the walls)

1. (idiomatic) To behave in a distressed or frantic manner; to exhibit great agitation.
   • 1968 Jul. 5, "Never Like Anyone Else," Time:

     There are purists who climb the walls when German Conductor-Organist-Harpsichordist Karl Richter performs Bach. . . . To them, imagination—and Richter has plenty—is the ultimate transgression.

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