on tenterhooks
/ˌɔn ˈtɛntəɹˌhʊks/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.88 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
prep_phrase
In a state of (great) apprehension or suspense; on pins and needles; on the rack.
Example Sentences
- "I made no reply, but left him upon the tenter-hooks of impatient uncertainty."
- "If I were efficient to the point of crankiness, I suppose I should come out at any hour between midnight and reveille, and so keep the guard on tenterhooks, and make the tour as hard for them as I could."
- "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."
- "Why do you keep me on tenterhooks like this, putting me off and off?"
- "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."
Etymology
Metaphorically stretched taut, like a piece of cloth on a tenter (“a framework upon which cloth is stretched and dried”) secured by tenterhooks. First attested in the mid-1700s.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌɔn ˈtɛntəɹˌhʊks/
- British English: /ˌɒn ˈtɛntəhʊks/