Meaning
Give someone a sudden severe fright or shock. Informal and emphatic. Often used immediately after a startling noise or unexpected appearance. Regional use: Ireland; Hiberno-English.
Origin
The phrase is an established piece of Hiberno-English whose vivid bodily image suggests a heart jolted out of its proper alignment. Contemporary Irish sources confirm the expression and its meaning, but a reliable early citation or specific source metaphor has not been established here. The physical explanation should therefore be treated as an interpretation, not a proven etymology.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- Have the heart crossways in you
- Put someone's heart crossways
- Put the heart crosswise in someone
Usage Examples
- That crash in the empty kitchen put the heart crossways in me.
- You put my heart crossways in me, appearing at the window like that.