Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Wednesday Word of the Day


Tenterhooks \TEN-ter-hooks\, noun:


1. On tenterhooks, in a state of uneasy suspense or painful anxiety.

2. One of the hooks or bent nails that hold cloth stretched on a tenter.

~I have to say, I didn't realize the hooks used to set up a tent had their own name, but I'm intrigued by the first definition - Uneasy suspense or painful anxiety - hmmm I can think of several places I could use this word, but would it pull the reader out of the story?~

2 comments:

  1. That word was used quite a bit when I was growing up, in speech and in fiction. While I knew what it meant, I didn't know the origin. Thanks!

    But, yeah, these days unless you're writing a story in a certain time period, it could take a reader out of the story.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow...used a lot, huh. Interesting how words fall out of use over time then comeback. :)

    Yeah, this word would definitely pull me out of a story. LOL

    ReplyDelete