A nervous, fluttering sensation in the stomach; butterflies or jittery feelings.
British slang of uncertain origin, possibly combining 'colly' (to shake or disturb) with 'wobble'. First recorded in the 19th century, the exact etymology remains debated by etymologists.
Collywobbles perfectly captures that nervous stomach feeling before something important—it's so British and whimsical that it sounds made up, but it's been in dictionaries for over 150 years!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.