1
general::
Phrase(s): sweat bullets
Go to sweat blood and sweat bullets
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
Perspire profusely; also, suffer mental anguish. For example, We were sweating bullets, sitting in the sun through all those graduation speeches, or It was their first baby, and David was sweating bullets while Karen was in labor. The bullets in this expression allude to drops of perspiration the size of bullets. [Slang; mid-1900s]
American Heritage Idioms