ENDrawing on numerous examples from the Latvian dialect dictionaries, this paper presents an analysis of the Latvian phraseological unit kā uz adatām lit. 'like on needles', '(to be) on tenterhooks', American English 'on pins and needles'. An analogous phrase is to be found in Lithuanian as well - "kaip ant adatų". In the same sense as its Latvian counterpart it is recorded in "Lietuvių kalbos žodynas", "Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas" and in the most recent "Frazeologijos žodynas".