high wire

noun

1. a tightrope stretched very high above the ground.

high wire

noun

1. a tightrope stretched high in the air for balancing acts

Word History and Origins

Origin of high wire¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

It's a tricky enough high wire to have the derogatory phrase "cafeteria Catholic," someone who selectively decides what parts of the faith to accept and what to reject.

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Of course, one problem with walking a high wire is that your opponent can try to knock you off.

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“It was so eloquent. Like watching a trapeze artist on a high wire, poised gracefully in midair.”

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Of all the State of the Union addresses a president could deliver, it’s the one that comes in an election year that counts as the ultimate high wire act.

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AP Film Writer Jake Coyle called it a “high wire act of a biopic” in his review, favoring the experimental black-and-white beginning over the later years, which focuses more on the increasingly complex family dynamics.

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