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What does the expression on tenterhooks mean?
waiting nervously for something to happen
The phrase “on tenterhooks” means “waiting nervously for something to happen.” A tenterhook is literally a sharp hook that fastens cloth to a tenter, a frame on which cloth is stretched, like a tent, for even drying to prevent shrinkage.
What is the origin of tenterhooks?
It comes from the Latin word tentus, which means “to stretch.” The word ‘tenterhooks’ comes from the metal hooks that manufacturers used to stretch wool on a tenter while it dried. So a tenterhook is a metal hook that holds the cloth in place on the tenter, and the frames were set out in fields so the wool could dry.
How do you use tenterhooks in a sentence?
1. We were kept on tenterhooks for hours while the judges chose the winner. 2. She had been on tenterhooks all night, expecting Joe to return at any moment.
Are hooks tender?
The phrase tender hooks doesn’t really make sense, though: hooks are sharp and pointy, not tender! (Tender means “gentle, sensitive, or loving,” and it can also mean “easy to chew” or “sore.”) Tenterhooks are real things, even if people outside of the textile industry might not be able to recognize them.
What is a wee bit?
Definition of a wee bit : by a very small amount or to a very small degree I’m a wee bit confused.
Is it tenter or tender hooks?
On tenterhooks NOT on tender hooks This phrase, meaning worried anticipation, comes from the word ‘tenter’ which was a frame on which cloth was stretched to prevent shrinking. The tenterhook kept the cloth tense and tight – hence the expression. A tender hook isn’t a thing.
Do away with idiom sentence?
Make an end of, eliminate. For example, The town fathers have decided to do away with the old lighting system. 2. Demolish, destroy, kill, as in The animal officer did away with the injured deer lying by the side of the road.
Is the expression tender hooks or tenterhooks?
What does I have a bone to pick mean?
Having a “bone to pick with someone” means having a grievance that needs to be talked out: “I have a bone to pick with you, Wallace; I heard how you criticized me at the meeting last night.”
What does to cry for the moon mean?
Definition of cry for the moon British, informal. : to ask for something that is very difficult or impossible to get The striking workers say they just want to be paid what they’re worth. They’re not crying for the moon.