On Tender Hooks

Someone who is "waiting nervously for something to happen" is said to be "on tenterhooks." It's still used frequently, albeit a lot of people mistakenly say "on tender hooks," which doesn't really make sense because hooks cannot be soft. "A sharp hooked nail used especially for securing cloth on a tenter" is the definition of a tenterhook.

The Latin tenta, the feminine past tense of the verb tendere, which means "to stretch," is the same root as our word tent. Of course, a tent is made out of a fabric that is stretched across poles and occasionally nailed to the ground.

The issue here is that since most people don't know what a tenter is, they tend to use a different word in its stead. A tenter is a straightforward tool that has been used to make cloth for hundreds of years. The cloth is stretched over a wooden frame that has numerous hooks attached to stop it from shrinking and wrinkling as it dries. As you can see, it does make a little more sense for someone with anxiety to be on edge.