Shake in your shoes Definition 1 of 1Pro Tip 1/3Colloquial Use Used more in casual conversation than formal or written English. I was shaking in my shoes before the roller coaster started. Pro Tip 2/3Exaggeration Often used to exaggerate fear for effect, not always literal shaking. He makes me shake in my shoes when he's angry, even if I'm not really trembling. Pro Tip 3/3Figurative Language A metaphor for feeling very afraid, without actual movement. The haunted house story left us shaking in our shoes.