on tenterhooks

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.”

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

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

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

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

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"What has been set back is any meaningful transition to somewhere better, such as Gaza's rehabilitation and rebuilding. Whilst the ceasefire may survive, it will remain on tenterhooks," he said.

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Everything from gun violence to anti-Semitism is putting Americans on tenterhooks, according to the consultancy's Dominic Volek.

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"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.

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