Highly strung

Posted by RRC March 21, 2007In reply to Highly strung Posted by Ett on March 21, 2007

Hi, I am trying to find the origins of the saying 'highly strung' as in: "He/She is highly strung" meaning "he/she is a bit tense'.

Why highly strung though - where did it come from?

The strings on musical instruments that play the high notes must be very taut (tightly wound, under a lot of stress, high tension) and they are the most likely to snap.

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