tenterhook
2
9.9
- noun
- /ˈtɛntərˌhʊk/
- Archaic
:
gancho de tensar
- The workers carefully used tenterhooks to stretch the fabric evenly on the frame.
Examples
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When drying the canvas, it is important to secure it with tenterhooks to prevent any wrinkles.
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After washing, the artist placed the cloth on tenterhooks to dry it in perfect condition.
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On tenterhooks at this end, so give me a ring here when you have something.
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Yeah, we have all been on tenterhooks, Stanley.
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He's on tenterhooks while they read it.
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He's on tenterhooks about the play, but we're fine.
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Please don't keep us on tenterhooks much longer, as the wait is killing us all!
Blog text (4) -
Don't leave me on tenterhooks.
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No longer would there be that expectation, that waiting on tenterhooks, the suspense that comes with the beginning of summer.
Fiction book (1994) -
Although most of the work in the kiln is personal or even experimental, some potters have expensive commissioned pieces inside and may be on tenterhooks.
Fiction book (1998)
Synonyms
14
2.6
A small hook or buckle that fastens things together
A small metal loop used to fasten clothing or hang small items
A small clip made of wood or plastic that holds clothes on a line while they dry
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word tenterhook comes from the hooks that held cloth on a tenter, a wooden frame used to 'stretch' fabric while it dried. That's why being 'on tenterhooks' means being in a state of 'tension' or anxious waiting, like cloth pulled tight on a frame.