bounce off the walls
To be overly active relative to the enclosed space in which one is.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The excited children are bouncing off the walls today.”
“After eating all that candy at the party, the kids were bouncing off the walls for hours.”
“The puppy, having been confined to a small crate all morning, began bouncing off the walls the moment he was finally released into the garden.”
- 01
back to the wall
A very difficult situation with no beneficial options available for action.
- 02
balls to the wall
With maximum effort or commitment.
- 03
bang one's head against a brick wall
To waste effort on a futile project.
- 04
blue wall of silence
Strict secretiveness maintained by the members of a police force with respect to information which might be contrary to their interests, especially information concerning questionable police actions.
- 05
bounce back
To recover from a negative situation without seemingly any damage.
- 06
bounce off
To test (ideas) on someone.
- 07
break the fourth wall
To apparently communicate with reality directly, such as when characters of literature comment on the existence of a reader.
- 08
Chinese Wall
An information barrier within an organization, designed to ensure internal confidentiality; frequently used to prevent conflicts of interest.
Last updated August 10, 2026