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.”

Notes

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]

More About On Tenterhooks

What does on tenterhooks mean?

On tenterhooks means in a state of painfully anxious suspense or tension. Being on tenterhooks typically involves being extremely nervous while awaiting the outcome of a tense situation, such as a close election, an exciting sports game, or a horror movie.

What are tenterhooks, anyway?

Tenterhooks are hooks used to attach cloth to a tenter—a frame on which cloth is stretched during the manufacturing process so that it can keep its shape while drying. Tenterhooks are no longer widely used in cloth manufacturing, and the word tenterhooks is now almost exclusively used in the phrase on tenterhooks.

Example: I’ve been on tenterhooks all morning waiting for the doctor’s office to call back with my test results.

Where does the phrase on tenterhooks come from?

The first records of the phrase on tenterhooks come from the mid-1700s. The word tenterhook is first recorded in the late 1400s. Tenter comes from the Middle English tente, which means “to stretch” and derives from the Latin tēnsus, meaning “tense.” The word tenter was formerly used as a synonym for tenterhook, and the expression on tenters was first used before on tenterhooks to mean the same thing.

Most of the people who use the phrase on tenterhooks have probably never seen actual tenterhooks, and most may not even know what they are. But it’s a good metaphor—when someone is described as being on tenterhooks, they feel tense and stretched thin, just like the fabric on a tenter. This often involves apprehension about a negative situation, but someone can be on tenterhooks from nervous excitement about something potentially positive as well. ​

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What are some synonyms for on tenterhooks?

• anxious
• nervous
• on edge
• apprehensive

What are some words that share a root or word element with on tenterhooks? 

 

• tenter
• hook
• tenterhooks
• tense

What are some words that often get used in discussing on tenterhooks?

• suspense
• wait
• anxious
• nervous
• on edge
• apprehensive
• stretch
• cloth

How is on tenterhooks used in real life?

The phrase on tenterhooks is often applied to negative situations, but it can be used to describe someone who’s nervously excited.

Nursing home staff 'on tenterhooks' over rise in Covid-19 cases nationwide https://t.co/H0VjWDVkip

— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) August 21, 2020

I'm on tenterhooks I'm really anxious about my Son's results. Sending you and your daughter positive vibes.

— Temi (@temfash) August 17, 2020

on tenterhooks today waiting for the arrivals of new carly rae in my inbox and counter/weight shirt in my mailbox

— Carey Pietsch (@careydraws) May 17, 2019

 

 

 

Try using on tenterhooks!

Which of the following terms is a synonym of the phrase on tenterhooks?

A. on edge
B. tense
C. anxious
D. all of the above