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tenterhooks

 - 3 dictionary results

ten⋅ter⋅hook

  [ten-ter-hook]
–noun
1. one of the hooks or bent nails that hold cloth stretched on a tenter.
—Idiom
2. on tenterhooks, in a state of uneasy suspense or painful anxiety: The movie keeps one on tenterhooks until the very last moment.
Use tenterhooks in a Sentence
Origin:
1470–80; tenter + hook
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To tenterhooks
ten·ter·hook   (těn'tər-hŏŏk')   
n.  A hooked nail for securing cloth on a tenter.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Idioms & Phrases

tenterhooks

see on tenterhooks.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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