tenterhooks

• She pored over it for a few moments, making out such items as ‘to i paire quysshons of redd sarsnet for my lady Joans chambere’ and ‘to ii li tenterhooks, and iii li nayles for the same,’ and then continued to explore, till rounding the corner of the bookshelves into the end bay, she was quite startled to come upon an elderly gentleman, in a dressing-gown. —  Busman’s Honeymoon
• Pietr was on tenterhooks, but determined to keep his countenance. —  Maigret and the Enigmatic Lett—Simenon, Georges - 01
• I sat on tenterhooks, and meanwhile the Admiral slumbered placidly, his gentle snores punctuating Mr Collins's discourse, his mouth open, nor dared I push him with my foot as is my custom. —  The Ladies
• Today you mentioned being on "tender hooks '"; I believe the term is actually "tenterhooks" implying a state of anxiety (and actually, in origin, is related to the manufacture of cloth!). —  Pam Holland Designs and Productions
• Only the top leadership of the MDC who are meeting in Johannesburg have the answer to this four month-long guessing game that has kept Zimbabweans on tenterhooks, since talks to form a new government stalled last year. —  AllAfrica News: Latest

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