be shaking like a leaf
To be trembling violently with fear or nervousness. Sometimes used figuratively. I was shaking like a leaf when I went up to deliver my speech in front of all those people.
be shaking like a leaf
COMMON If someone is shaking like a leaf, their body is shaking a lot, usually because they are very frightened. Note: The `leaf' in the last two expressions is a page of a book. I didn't think about the danger at the time. Afterwards I was shaking like a leaf.