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

So as not to keep you on tenterhooks, “CIA” gets you most of the way there by the end of the first hour.

From Los Angeles Times

Murase said she felt "immense joy" at her gold but admitted she had been on tenterhooks until her final run.

From Barron's

"We're on tenterhooks," she added.

From BBC

For PSG, the fans will be on tenterhooks until the very end in their bid for a top-eight finish.

From Barron's

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