She keeps her readers on tenterhooks throughout the book.
I've been on tenterhooks since I applied for the job.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
To be on the tenter-hooks — Tenter Ten ter, n. [OE. tenture, tentoure, OF. tenture a stretching, spreading, F. tenture hangings, tapestry, from L. tendere, tentum, to stretch. See {Tend} to move.] A machine or frame for stretching cloth by means of hooks, called tenter… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
tenterhooks — ten|ter|hooks [ˈtentəhuks US ər ] n especially BrE [Date: 1500 1600; Origin: tenterhook sharp nail for fastening cloth on a tenter (15 20 centuries), from tenter frame for drying and stretching cloth (13 20 centuries) (from Medieval Latin tentura … Dictionary of contemporary English
tenterhooks — ten|ter|hooks [ tentər,huks ] noun on tenterhooks nervous because you do not know what is going to happen … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
tenterhook — ten•ter•hook [[t]ˈtɛn tərˌhʊk[/t]] n. tex one of the hooks or bent nails that hold cloth stretched on a tenter • on tenterhooks Etymology: 1470–80 … From formal English to slang
Tenter — Ten ter, n. [OE. tenture, tentoure, OF. tenture a stretching, spreading, F. tenture hangings, tapestry, from L. tendere, tentum, to stretch. See {Tend} to move.] A machine or frame for stretching cloth by means of hooks, called tenter hooks, so… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Tenter ground — Tenter Ten ter, n. [OE. tenture, tentoure, OF. tenture a stretching, spreading, F. tenture hangings, tapestry, from L. tendere, tentum, to stretch. See {Tend} to move.] A machine or frame for stretching cloth by means of hooks, called tenter… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Tenter-hook — Tenter Ten ter, n. [OE. tenture, tentoure, OF. tenture a stretching, spreading, F. tenture hangings, tapestry, from L. tendere, tentum, to stretch. See {Tend} to move.] A machine or frame for stretching cloth by means of hooks, called tenter… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
To be on tenterhooks — Tenter Ten ter, n. [OE. tenture, tentoure, OF. tenture a stretching, spreading, F. tenture hangings, tapestry, from L. tendere, tentum, to stretch. See {Tend} to move.] A machine or frame for stretching cloth by means of hooks, called tenter… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
To be on the tenters — Tenter Ten ter, n. [OE. tenture, tentoure, OF. tenture a stretching, spreading, F. tenture hangings, tapestry, from L. tendere, tentum, to stretch. See {Tend} to move.] A machine or frame for stretching cloth by means of hooks, called tenter… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
literature — /lit euhr euh cheuhr, choor , li treuh /, n. 1. writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays. 2.… … Universalium
