On tenterhooks
Meaning
To be in a state of anxious suspense, nervous anticipation, or eager expectation.
Origin
In the bustling textile mills of 18th-century Britain, the creation of fine woollen cloth was a painstaking art. After weaving and washing, the wet fabric was highly susceptible to shrinkage. To prevent this, it was carefully stretched onto massive wooden frames known as "tenters." Along these tenters, hundreds of sharp metal hooks—the "tenterhooks"—gripped the edges of the valuable cloth, pulling it taut and holding it in a delicate state of tension. The weavers and merchants would watch, literally on tenterhooks, as their livelihood dried, hoping the fabric wouldn't tear or shrink, and that their careful work would result in a perfect, even weave. This very tangible suspense, where the cloth's fate hung by a thread, eventually became our enduring idiom for anxious waiting.
Examples
- Sarah was on tenterhooks all day, waiting for the college admission results.
- The audience was on tenterhooks as the magician prepared for his most dangerous trick.