Beginning in the Middle Ages washed wool fabric was stretched tightly on wooden frames called tenters.. The wet fabric was attached to L-shaped hooks along the tenter’s perimeter to keep it from shrinking. When in a strained state we still say we’re on tenterhooks.
Reposted with permission: RalphKeyes.com
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And I always thought it was "tender hooks." I wonder what the origins of that would have looked like. Perhaps something like this: Back in the Middle Ages when serfs were tortured, they were stretched on hooks inserted into the flesh on their arms and legs, leaving them very tender after the experience. Nowadays, when we say someone is on tender hooks, we mean they are ready to run like hell in anticipation of undergoing a torturous experience.
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