Word.ws English Dictionary

the natives are restless

the natives are restless phrase: a group of agitated people—such as a set of residents, customers, or citizens—is expressing annoyance, distress, or other discomposure.

Phrase

the natives are restless

  1. (humorous, mildly, often, set phrase) A group of agitated people—such as a set of residents, customers, or citizens—is expressing annoyance, distress, or other discomposure.
    • This election year, the natives are restless, the senior campaigners say. Long Island voters are angry about high taxes, affordable housing and drugs.1989 October 29, Diane Ketcham, “About Long Island: Warhorses On The Campaign Trail”, in New York Times, retrieved 28 May 2015
    • Gateway has plenty of company in having to deal with frustrated, sometimes irate, customers. […] The natives are restless. Few vendors are spared.1997 December 29, David C. Churbuck, “Help! My PC won't work!”, in Forbes, retrieved 28 May 2015

Origin of the natives are restless

Originally a literal description of rebellious aboriginal inhabitants of British colonies, as in: :* New Zealand Parliamentary Debates: Third Session of the Fourth Parliament, Vol. 2, 1868, page 387 ::: As to the Native question, […] The Natives are restless, and seem desirous of fighting.

Questions about the natives are restless

What does the natives are restless mean?
The natives are restless means a group of agitated people—such as a set of residents, customers, or citizens—is expressing annoyance, distress, or other discomposure.
What part of speech is the natives are restless?
The natives are restless is a phrase.

Words near the natives are restless in the dictionary

  1. the more you know
  2. the more you know, the higher you go
  3. the nail that sticks out gets hammered down
  4. the nail that sticks up gets hammered down
  5. the natives are getting restless
  6. the natives are restless
  7. the nerve of
  8. The Netherlands
  9. the new black
  10. the next best thing
  11. the next day

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: the natives are restless (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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