- on tenterhooks
- IN SUSPENSE, waiting with bated breath; anxious, nervous, nervy, apprehensive, worried, worried sick, on edge, edgy, tense, strained, stressed, agitated, restless, worked up, keyed up, with one's stomach in knots, with one's heart in one's mouth, like a cat on a hot tin roof; informal with butterflies in one's stomach, jittery, jumpy, twitchy, in a state, uptight; N. Amer. informal spooky, squirrelly.
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phrasalthe new men are frankly on tenterhooks, for they have a career at stake — Roy Lewis & Angus Maude
puts his readers right on tenterhooks — W.G.Rogers
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on tenterhooksIn impatient suspense• • •Main Entry: ↑tenter* * *
on tenterhooks phrasenervous because you do not know what is going to happenWe were all on tenterhooks waiting for her answer.
Thesaurus: feeling worried and nervoussynonymMain entry: tenterhooks* * *
in a state of suspense or agitation because of uncertainty about a future event* * *
on tenterhooks: waiting nervously for something to happen : in a state of nervousness or excitement caused by wondering what will happenShe keeps her readers on tenterhooks throughout the book.
I've been on tenterhooks since I applied for the job.
• • •Main Entry: ↑tenterhooks
Useful english dictionary. 2012.