make your toes curl

make (one's) toes curl

1. To cause one an acute feeling of disgust, shame, embarrassment, or anguish. Her story about the disastrous wedding made everyone's toes curl. The thought of having to give her presentation in front of an audience made her toes curl. I don't know why, but the sound of another person chewing makes my toes curl.
2. To cause one an acute feeling of joy or pleasure. When he leaned in to kiss me at the end of the date, it made my toes curl.
See also: curl, make, toe
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

make your toes curl

1. If something makes your toes curl, it makes you feel very embarrassed. He reminds us of every time our toes curled in the past watching TV presenters making idiotic comments or awful jokes. I attacked her in a way that now makes my toes curl. Note: You can use toe-curling before nouns to describe things that make you feel embarrassed. Movies about famous explorers rarely work, as some recent toe-curling efforts show.
2. If something makes your toes curl, it makes you react strongly, especially by being shocked. She tells stories that would make your toes curl. Note: You can also say that something curls your toes. There are some things you'll learn about this place that'll curl your toes.
See also: curl, make, toe
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
See also:
  • make (one's) toes curl
  • make somebody's toes curl
  • make someone's toes curl
  • make your hair curl
  • make someone's hair curl
  • make somebody's hair curl
  • make (one's) hair curl
  • nause
  • nause (one) out
  • nause out