Just what could this week’s subject be? Are you on tenterhooks? What on earth are tenterhooks?
First, why don’t we get the one thing right: you’re on TENTERhooks, maybe not TENDERhooks.
Where We Have The Word ‚Tenterhooks‘
To determine exactly what a tenterhook is, we need to realize that way back when manufacturers kept freshly milled woolen fabric from shrinking on a wooden frame called a tenter while it dried by stretching it. It comes down through the Latin term tentus, this means “to stretch.”
The phrase ‚tenterhooks‘ arises from the steel hooks that manufacturers used to stretch wool on a tenter whilst it dried. „Tenterhooks or Tenderhooks? Become on tenterhooks will be filled up with painful or anxious expectation or suspense, such as for example when you’re waiting around for the consequence of a significant medical test.“ weiterlesen