yips, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

yips n.

[popularly linked to golf use; coined by the golfer T.D. Armour, according to a citation in P. Davies’ Dict. of Golfing Terms (1980); however, note cit. 1932]

nerves.

1932		B. Hecht Scarface [film script] Gee, that tie really give me the yips.
1979		D. Gram Foxes (1980) 38: They eased along close to the buildings in an advanced state of drug yips.
1991		B. Hamper Rivethead (1992) 152: The problem was Eddie simply got the yips whenever money was on the line.
2001		(con. 1964–8) J. Ellroy Cold Six Thousand 5: Whoo! You got a case of the yips, boy!
2017		Twitter 18 Mar. 🌐 Kohli looks finished for this series. Five consecutive failures suggest a true case of the ‘yips’.
2021		J. Ellroy Widespread Panic 63: I had a case of the yammering yips and the mean megrims.