tightrope walking
1
5.8
- noun
- /ˈtaɪtˌroʊp ˈwɔːkɪŋ/
:
funambulismo
- The festival featured a breathtaking exhibition of tightrope walking high above the crowd.
Examples
-
The performer dazzled the audience with her incredible tightrope walking skills during the circus show.
-
One thing I know is good tightrope-walking.
-
He climbs onto the wire and begins tightrope walking toward her.
Fiction book (1996) -
After months of practice, he finally mastered the art of tightrope walking without falling.
Synonyms
The skill of walking on a thin rope high above the ground
How Difficult
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the act of walking along a tightrope' is directly and transparently composed from 'tightrope' (a rope used for walking or balancing) and 'walking' (the activity of walking). This noun+gerund activity formation is a regular, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Tightrope walking comes from circus performers who walked along a thin, pulled tight tightrope high above the ground. So, because the image is someone moving slowly on a narrow rope, the phrase means the 'act' or 'skill' of doing that and also suggests needing 'balance' and 'concentration'.