run scared
verb1
Idiomatic To be in a state of fearful alarm.
- The campaign is in crisis mode: they are running scared and it is becoming obvious.
- You came to me when I was lonely / And no one cared / You made me see that I was only / Just running scared1981 June 23, William King, Harold Hudson, Shirley Hanna-King, “Lady (You Bring Me Up)” (track 1), in In the Pocket, performed by Commodores: