<P> In 1690 the periodical The General History of Europe used the term in the modern sense: "The mischief is, they will not meet again these two years, so that all business must hang upon the tenterhooks till then ." </P> <P> In 1826, English periodical Monthly magazine or British register of literature, sciences, and the belles - lettres contained the line "I hope (though the wish is a cruel one) that my fair readers, if any such readers have deigned to follow me thus far, are on tenterhooks to know to whom the prize was adjudged ." In a letter to his wife the same year, American educator Francis Wayland (waiting for his promised appointment as President of Brown University) wrote "I was never so much on tenter hooks before ." </P> <P> The word tenter is still used today to refer to production line machinery employed to stretch polyester films and similar fabrics . The spelling stenter is also found . </P>

Where does the expression on tenterhooks come from