be on tenterhooks

be on tenterhooks

Apprehension, a Chinese idiom, Pinyin for Xu á nx à NDI à OD à n, means to describe very worried or afraid. From journey to the West.

The origin of Idioms

The 17th chapter of Wu Chengen's journey to the West in Ming Dynasty: "the monks heard this, and they were all worried and told the heaven to make a wish."

Analysis of Idioms

Be on tenterhooks

Idiom usage

Be worried or afraid of

Examples

But they are often severely rejected by the farmers' Association, so they always live in fear. Mao Zedong's investigation report on Hunan Peasant Movement