Typically a humorous word referring to 'stomach pain or queasiness', collywobbles also refers figuratively to 'intense anxiety or nervousness, especially with stomach queasiness'. The word comes from the fanciful formation of colic + wobble, and in its figurative usage can be equated to the more common butterflies in the stomach, belly. Referring to 'a fluttering and nauseated sensation felt in the stomach when one is nervous', the phrase is often clipped to just 'the butterflies'.

Collywobbles一般是“腹痛或恶心”的戏虐说法，有时也喻指“因为极度紧张或焦虑而伴随的腹部不适”，也就是我们通常说的“紧张得肚子疼”。这个词是由colic（腹部绞痛）和wobble（摇摆）组合而成，这样的结合也是够炫目了。其实，这个词的比喻说法就相当于我们更熟悉的那个英文表达butterflies in the stomach/belly，胃里/肚子里有很多蝴蝶，也就是紧张得发抖，忐忑不安的意思。