on tenterhooks

English

WOTD – 6 November 2024

Etymology

Metaphorically stretched taut, like a piece of cloth on a tenter (“framework upon which cloth is stretched and dried”) secured by tenterhooks.^[1]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɒn ˈtɛntəhʊks/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˌɔn ˈtɛntəɹˌhʊks/, (cot–caught merger) /ˌɑn-/, [-ɾəɹ-]
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Hyphenation: on tent‧er‧hooks

Prepositional phrase

on tenterhooks

(idiomatic) In a state of (great) apprehension or suspense; on pins and needles.
Synonyms: in suspense, (obsolete) on tenters, (obsolete) on the tenters
- [1748, [Tobias Smollett], “I Enquire about My Uncle, and Understand He is Gone to Sea— […]”, in The Adventures of Roderick Random. […], volume I, London: […] [William Strahan] for J[ohn] Osborn […], →OCLC, page 94:
  I made no reply, but left him upon the tenter-hooks of impatient uncertainty.]
- 1920, John Galsworthy, “Dartie versus Dartie”, in In Chancery (The Forsyte Saga; 2), London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, part II, page 187:
  Having ordered a light repast, to the consternation of the waiter, they awaited its arrival together with that of Mr. Bellby, in silent reaction after the hour and a half's suspense on the tenterhooks of publicity.
- 1921 September, John Galsworthy, “Caprice”, in To Let, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, part I, page 114:
  Why do you keep me on tenterhooks like this, putting me off and off?
- 2023 July 21, Philip Oltermann, “Escaped ‘lioness’ in Berlin was most likely a wild boar, mayor says”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-11-08:
  A 30-hour search for an escaped lioness that had residents on the southern fringes of Berlin shelter in their homes and the rest of the German capital on tenterhooks has found that what was thought to be an exotic feline predator was most likely a common wild pig.

Usage notes

Also in the form on the tenterhooks.^[2]

Translations

in a state of (great) apprehension or suspense — see on pins and needles

References

^ “on tenterhooks”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present, reproduced from Christine Ammer, The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2003, →ISBN.
^ “to be on (the) tenterhooks” under “tenterhook, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2024.