Waiting on tenterhooks

@JudyEv (305353)
Rockingham, Australia
March 17, 2023 3:10am CST
A myLotter today queried ‘tenterhooks’ as in ‘waiting on tenterhooks’. I guess it’s an old saying but one I’ve known all my life. So I googled it, as one does, and discovered that a tenter is a wooden frame used for stretching woollen cloth. Tenters were used as far back as the 14th century. Tenter hooks were, somewhat obviously, the hooks used to fasten the cloth to the frame. Later, the phrase came to mean being in a state of tension, anxiety or suspense, similarly to cloth being stretched on the tenter. The photos shows little goats waiting on tenterhooks for their milk.
19 people like this
21 responses
@just4him (274011)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
17 Mar
That's interesting. I know the phrase well, but not the meaning. Thank you.
4 people like this
@TheHorse (176957)
• Walnut Creek, California
18 Mar
I think I had heard it, but I had no clue what it meant, or where it came from.
2 people like this
@just4him (274011)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
17 Mar
@JudyEv I'm glad you do. I enjoy reading about what you find.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Mar
I had no idea about the meaning either. I like to know these things. lol
2 people like this
@YrNemo (20411)
17 Mar
I have that anxious feeling right now for no reason (only because I saw my (on a travelling trip) neighbour's tenant did something he shouldn't do just now ).
3 people like this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Mar
Oh really? That's not good at all. Will you need to do anything about it? I hope not.
2 people like this
@YrNemo (20411)
18 Mar
@JudyEv I think the owner returns from China either this coming week or soon after. I will tentatively tell her then. (Her Middle East tenant took some stranger into her precious garden and pinched some plants from there.)
2 people like this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Mar
@YrNemo Hopefully they just took slips or cuttings.
2 people like this
@pumpkinjam (8286)
• United Kingdom
18 Mar
That is interesting. I do know the phrase but didn't know its original. I believe there are some places where the word has been changed to tenderhooks rather than tenterhooks.
2 people like this
• United Kingdom
18 Mar
@JudyEv That is a perfectly legitimate hate. Shortening/abbreviating is fine but 'of' instead of 'have' makes no sense and is pure laziness. If ever I see it written, I don't read any further as I assume the writer is an idiot with nothing worthwhile to say. Perhaps a bit over-the-top but I don't think so.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Mar
Yes, I've seen that too. It's probably to do with the way people say the word and gradually the spelling becomes changed to fit the speech. Like people who say 'should've, would've' short for 'should have, would have' but then it gets changed in speech to 'should of, would of' and now dozens write 'should of, would of'. One of my pet hates I'm afraid.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (176957)
• Walnut Creek, California
18 Mar
Right. I had thought it might mean the hooks you hang meat on to let it age.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (115442)
• India
17 Mar
I use this phrase often but did not know its origin. Those little goats look all cramped up
2 people like this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Mar
There is a large paddock behind them. They are in the alleyway between their shed and the fence.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (429419)
• Switzerland
17 Mar
I learnt something new today thanks to you Judy.
3 people like this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Mar
Some of these sayings are so old that their origins get lost.
3 people like this
@LadyDuck (429419)
• Switzerland
17 Mar
@JudyEv This is true, I am trying to find the meaning of some old saying in the Milanese dialect, but I can find nothing online.
2 people like this
@Icydoll (36243)
• India
17 Mar
This is interesting to know Judy.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Mar
Thanks. I thought so. The origins of some old sayings are very interesting.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (68813)
• United States
20 Mar
I wondered what the heck the photo had to do with it I was confused but I’ve gotten it figured out now
1 person likes this
@shaggin (68813)
• United States
20 Mar
@JudyEv yes it was and a cute photo to go with it
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Mar
I thought it was quite creative of me really!!
1 person likes this
@ptrikha_2 (42070)
• India
18 Mar
Tenterhooks is often used for certain political news. Not much otherwise. Sometimes, we hear or keep on using certain words but knowing about their origins is much more interesting!!
1 person likes this
@ptrikha_2 (42070)
• India
20 Mar
@JudyEv Many have strange and archaic origins. I knew of a Librarian and a Wikinut writer who is also on mylot but not much active who used to write about such terms' origins.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Mar
I like to know how these sayings come about.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (105361)
• El Paso, Texas
17 Mar
That's a really cute photo. Well, thanks to you I've learned another new word, maybe this time I won't forget it.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (105361)
• El Paso, Texas
20 Mar
Uh oh, I'd already forgotten that word when I checked this notice
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Mar
I'll be on tenterhooks to know if you do or not!
1 person likes this
• United States
17 Mar
It's nice to know the meaning of a phrase that is familiar. It's funny how sayings and phrases can be passed down generation after generation.
1 person likes this
• United States
20 Mar
@JudyEv my grandkids laugh when I occasionally use a phrase that is "old"
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
21 Mar
@Marilynda1225 But I'm sure they really love you for it.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Mar
Some get passed down and others gradually fade into obscurity.
1 person likes this
@Adie04 (17496)
17 Mar
I learn a new vocab today. That's nice. But I am a visual person, I need to see the picture to make sure what tenterhook is. I sometimes can think naughty things
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Mar
I think there was a picture when I looked up the phrase.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
21 Mar
@Adie04 Here is a picture of one from Wikipedia.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Mar
@Adie04 I'm not sure what you can find naughty about tenterhooks!
1 person likes this
@Beestring (10501)
• Hong Kong
17 Mar
That's interesting. I learned something new. Thank you.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Mar
I knew about tenterhooks but didn't know how the saying came about. That's often the most interesting part.
2 people like this
@thebos (2440)
• Kisumu, Kenya
17 Mar
That is interesting, do you keep sheep or cows
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Mar
I used to have pet sheep but we live in a city now and don't have any animals.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Mar
@thebos Sheep make good pets and they are low maintenance.
1 person likes this
@thebos (2440)
• Kisumu, Kenya
22 Mar
@JudyEv I didn't know that a sheep can be a pet
1 person likes this
@Gotrix (240)
17 Mar
Interesting fact about the origin of the saying! Thank you for the information.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Mar
You're welcome. It's fun to know how these sayings come about.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (41199)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
17 Mar
Now, I always thought tenter hooks were those hooks from which sides of beef, etc. were hung in commercial freezers. Live and learn.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Mar
I think they are just 'meat hooks'. My Dad had a bent one with a hook each end to hang up a whole sheep.
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (92438)
• Wheat Ridge, Colorado
17 Mar
I know this saying.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Mar
That's because you're a little bit older than some others.
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (49620)
• United States
17 Mar
I didn’t know this.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Mar
You're perhaps not old enough!!
@wolfgirl569 (73559)
• Marion, Ohio
17 Mar
Had heard the phrase but didn't know where it came from.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Mar
Some sayings get lost over time, don't they?
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (176957)
• Walnut Creek, California
18 Mar
I was worried for just a second that those cute little goats were soon to be stretched on tenterhooks. But then I thought things through. We can generate woolen cloth (do people ever use goat hair for anything?) without hurting the lambies and sheep that give it to us. You had me on tenterhooks for a second there. Or maybe my panties were just all in a bunch.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Mar
And I wonder how THAT came about? Panties all in a bunch. Perhaps you could research that one for us.
@Ronrybs (17003)
• London, England
17 Mar
Interesting how these sayings hang on so long and we don't know their original meaning.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (305353)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Mar
Some come from years back and some get forgotten over time too.
1 person likes this