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On tenterhooks

//ˌɒn ˈtɛntəhʊks// prep_phrase

Definitions

Prep_phrase
  1. 1
    In a state of (great) apprehension or suspense; on pins and needles; on the rack. idiomatic

    "I made no reply, but left him upon the tenter-hooks of impatient uncertainty."

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.

See also for "on tenterhooks"

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