sit bolt upright

When he made a weak move, which was rare, he’d sit bolt upright and inhale, emitting a sound like a snake’s hiss.

“It was a ‘sit bolt upright’ kind of moment.”

I have watched Holmes sit bolt upright at the defense table as her lawyers slowly wilt.

I sit bolt upright in my seat and suck air as if I'd been drowning.

I sit bolt upright, coughing, my eyes filling with tears as a blinding pain shoots across my chest and all over my body.