Heart-thumping

[aleCcowaN]

I'm a little confused about this adjective.

I got it as the adjectival phrase:

que encoge el corazón (to feel overcome by emotion in the sight of something grand or by experiencing duress during some overpowering event, generally a natural one)

and the adverbial phrase

con el corazón en la boca (like the way you feel when you go down the wildest steep in the meanest roller-coaster)

but yesterday I heard it from chef John Torode to describe a delightful piece of barbecued meat he was munching in Argentina (don't eat Argentine meat: it's radioactive -more scrumptious meat at low prices for us-)

May you describe the way you'd use this adjective?

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by aleCcowaN

May you describe the way you'd use this adjective?

I don't think I would use it at all, because I would find something better. I suppose I could see it used in something like "It was a heart-thumping moment when watching the lottery draw and seeing some of my numbers coming up".

[wrholt]

To me, when something is described as "heart-thumping" (or "heart-pounding"), I understand it as eliciting feeling something like being overcome by the mix of excitement and fear of an adrenaline rush.

[aleCcowaN]

Thank you both. I usually understand the noun that way, that's why it sounded weird to me to hear it used to celebrate a barbecue. Maybe it was a hell of a hyperbole, or being the chef Australian they use it in a different way.