on tenterhooks

Cultural  

1. To be kept on tenterhooks is to be held in a state of nervous apprehension: “We've been on tenterhooks since the election results started coming in.”

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on tenterhooks Idioms  

1. In a state of painful suspense, as in We were on tenterhooks all through the game, hoping against hope that our team would win. This expression alludes to hooks that formerly were used to hold newly woven cloth that was being stretched on a frame. Their name has long survived this method of manufacture. [Mid-1700s]

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A tenterhook was a hooked device used in the 1700s to secure newly woven cloth onto a frame.

Example Sentences

The turn of the New Year came with a new series of The Traitors and to no surprise, plot twists are leaving viewers on tenterhooks.

From BBC

Back in the current Archers timeline, fans were left on tenterhooks by the cliffhanger broadcast on New Year's Eve, when a dramatic attack shook the village.

From BBC

As a way to find joy, she said, in a time when news and world events have us all on tenterhooks.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I shall be on tenterhooks to hear what you have to say tomorrow.”

From Literature

"We were on tenterhooks in the sale room, it just kept going and going, it was wonderful, truly wonderful," said Jennifer Tonkin of auctioneers Bonhams.

From BBC