One is said to be “on tenterhooks” when he or she is feeling uneasy. A tenter is a frame for hanging clothing, and the clothes are hung from tenterhooks. Thus, the uneasiness of being “on tenterhooks” derives from the imagined tension of being suspended from those hooks.
One is said to be “on tenterhooks” when he or she is feeling uneasy. A tenter is a frame for hanging clothing, and the clothes are hung from tenterhooks. Thus, the uneasiness of being “on tenterhooks” derives from the imagined tension of being suspended from those hooks.
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to be uncertain and anxious about what is going to happen.
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