英语表达 to be on tenterhooks 的意思是“惶恐不安、提心吊胆”。据说以前英国纺织厂有一种叫“tenter”的木制框架，可以把织好的布用许多“tenterhooks 一种特殊的钩子”绷紧拉开，这样晒干后就显得非常平整。这种让布料紧绷的方式让人们联想起“一颗心被吊着，焦虑不安，如坐针毡的感觉”，也就延伸出了 to be on tenterhooks 这个表达。

例句

I was on tenterhooks all morning waiting to hear the outcome of my job interview.

我一早上都坐立不安，等着我工作面试结果的消息。

The exam results are due out today and George was on tenterhooks all night thinking about them.

考试成绩今天出来。乔治昨晚一直处于惶恐不安的状态，特别担心。

We were on tenterhooks all through the game, hoping that our team would win.

整场比赛我们都坐立不安，心一直悬着，希望我们的球队能够赢得这场比赛。