wiggle worm

English

Etymology

From wiggle +‎ worm, probably chosen as worms wiggle in order to locomote.

Noun

wiggle worm (plural wiggle worms)

1. (colloquial, endearing) A person, especially an infant or young child, who is energetic and frequently moves around (or sometimes wiggles).
   • 1986, Here's to Your Independence‎^[1], United States Department of Veterans Affairs, page 13 (of chapter 2):

     Your physical therapist will give you a set of diagrams of pressure release exercises. The options you will have are listed below. Work with your therapist to find which is best for you: […] Be a wiggle worm. It doesn't come automatically, but constant moving is what allows the blood to continue flowing.

   • 2011, William D. Hedges, Why Korean Education Is Leaving America in the Dust: And What We Must Do to Catch Up, Xlibris, →ISBN, page 101:

     Wiggle worms come in all age groups, sizes, shapes, and colors, and in both sexes. All wiggle worms have one factor in common—they are in constant motion. Watch your own wiggle worm tomorrow. Is he drumming on the desk, chewing his lip (or gum), wiggling a foot, sitting on first one hip and then the other […] asking a neighbor to borrow a sheet of paper?

   • 2022, Larry Lee Rhoton, The Treasure Map, →ISBN, page 94:

     Mom would tell me I wiggled worse than a worm; she would call me her wiggle worm. Heck, I was sitting on bones; I didn't have the padding she had. She must have had a lot of padding because I'd seen my dad pinch her on the butt a hundred times; she never complained; she would just smile.

Usage notes

• An older child or adult may instead be called hyperactive or an Energizer bunny.