tenterhook noun. ['tɛntǝhʊk] L15.
[from TENTER noun¹ + HOOK noun.]
1. Any of the hooks set in a close row along the upper and lower bar of a tenter to hold the edges of the cloth firm; a hooked or right-angled nail or spike. Later also (transf.), a hooked organ or part. Usu. in pl. L15.

2. fig. In pl. That on which something is stretched, strained, or distorted; a cause of suffering or painful suspense. M16.
on tenterhooks in a state of painful suspense or agitated expectancy.
■ Disraeli Honest men..sometimes strain truth on the tenter-hooks of fiction.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲