Idiom Origins - Make one’s hair stand on end - History of Make one’s hair stand on end

Make one’s hair stand on end

Meanings and origins of thousands of idioms, curious words, and slang.

Origin of: Make one’s hair stand on end

Make one’s hair stand on end

This very old metaphor describes extreme fear or frustration. There are two sources. One is the Bible Job 4:15 “Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up.” The other is Sophocles (c.495-405 BC) Oedipus at Colonus, “It made our hair stand up in panic fear.” Shakespeare used it in Hamlet Act I, Scene V, “I could a tale unfold … would … make … hair stand on end.”