on edge
(idiomatic) Tense, nervous; consequently irritable.
Waiting to see who had been chosen, we were all on edge.
You always have to be on edge. You always have to take every practice, every game, like it is your last. Kobe Bryant
There's got to be a backbone, there's got to be a skeleton to the whole way I perform, but you never want to hit the same note twice during a performance, I think. I think it's always got to be fresh so it doesn't bore me, and I always want to go out on edge. Casey Abrams
Prentice: My nerves are on edge. Rance: You should consult a qualified psychiatrist. Prentice: I am a qualified psychiatrist. Rance: You're a fool. That isn't quite the same thing. Though, in your case, the two may have much in common. Joe Orton
On Edge of abyss. Silvio Berlusconi
Weakness is something that rots in the body. Like gangrene. I've felt that ever since I was a teenager. That's why I was always on edge. There's this something inside you that's rotting away and you feel it all along. Haruki Murakami
The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge. Romanian Proverb