Hair standing on end: Meaning Now

What do we mean when we say it today?

Today, this phrase means exactly what Hastings means when he says it. He's freaked out. Margaret's angry curses given him the heebie-jeebies. And it turns out that when you feel this way, sometimes hair really does stand on end.

In the 17th century, there was a condition known as "goose-flesh" or "horripilation." This happened when the skin shrunk when it was cold. It also happened when someone got really scared. And it became known as someone's hair standing up. We're betting Shakespeare's theatergoers would have known that when he came up with this phrase.

Today, we hear a lot of people saying something "made the hair on the back of my neck stand up." That's pretty much the same thing.

We don't really find this one in particular songs, movies, or pop culture. But we do find it in people's responses to those things. All the time a scary movie gives someone goose bumps or makes their hair stand up. And for that, we have Shakespeare to thank. Well, sort of. He didn't exactly make the movie, now did he?