Collywobbles is a wonderfully silly-sounding word for that queasy, fluttery, nervous feeling in your stomach. You know the sensation: right before you give a presentation to your class, or when you're waiting in line for a roller coaster, or just before the curtain opens on the school play, your stomach might feel like it's full of butterflies doing somersaults. That's the collywobbles.

The word perfectly captures how the feeling isn't quite nausea and isn't quite just nervousness, but something in between. Your stomach might gurgle, flutter, or feel like it's tying itself in knots. Sometimes people get the collywobbles from actual stomach trouble, like eating something that didn't agree with them. More often, though, it's pure anxiety making your insides churn.

The word itself sounds as wobbly and unsettled as the feeling it describes. You might tell a friend before a big game, “I've got the collywobbles,” and they'll know exactly what you mean without needing further explanation. It's one of those expressive words that makes the English language fun.