Τρώω τα νύχια μου

Literally: I'm eating my nails

Example: “Περιμένω τα αποτελέσματα και τρώω τα νύχια μου.” — I'm waiting for the results and I'm on pins and needles.

English equivalent: To be on pins and needles

Origin: Two historical theories are offered for the phrase, both pointing toward anxious anticipation rather than the literal habit of biting one's nails. One reaches back to ancient Greek oracular divination, where diviners reportedly dipped their fingernails in a laurel-oil mixture and held them to their nostrils as part of inducing a trance state ahead of delivering a prophecy — a ritualized, nail-focused preparation for an anxiously awaited revelation. A second points to Roman-era wrestling, where competitors bit down on or filed their own nails against rough surfaces before a match, a literal pre-contest ritual tied to nervous anticipation of the coming bout. Whichever practice actually gave rise to it, the modern idiom keeps only the anxious waiting, stripped of its original ritual context.