It means to be anxiously waiting for something to happen.
"On tenterhooks" is an idiomatic expression that means to be in a state of anxious suspense or anticipation. It originates from the textile industry, where fabric was stretched on hooks (tenterhooks) to dry and maintain its shape. When someone is on tenterhooks, they are eagerly waiting for an outcome or news, often feeling uneasy or nervous about what will happen next.
The movie kept the entire theater on tenterhooks with the epic battle scenes.
It means 'anxiously waiting for news about someone or something'
The cast of Tenterhooks - 2002 includes: Jayke Aernan Karen Berger Kwame Ngozi Orji Charles Okafor Zack Orji
Tenterhooks are vicious s-shaped hooks, used to stretch linen in the fields, one end snagged through the cloth and the other end looped over a wooden frame. Being on tenterhooks would involve having one snagged through each hand/foot, then pulled out tight - so not particularly comfortable.
Tenterhooks are hooks in a device called a tenter, used in the process of making woollen cloth. Being "on tenterhooks" means being in a state of tension, uneasiness, anxiety, i.e. feeling stretched like the cloth on the tenter.
A tenter is a frame on which cloth is stretched during manufacture, so that it may dry evenly. The frame is outfitted with sharp hooks or bent nails that hold the cloth stretched. These hooks, you will not be surprised to learn, are called tenterhooks. Cloth-stretching being outside of most people's range of experience these days, tenterhook is rarely found except in the figurative expression on tenterhooks, meaning 'in a state of uneasy suspense or painful anxiety'.
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Being on tenterhooks means being in a state of anxious suspense or uncertainty, often while waiting for an outcome. The phrase originates from the textile industry, where cloth was stretched on a frame called a tenter to dry. The hooks used to secure the fabric created a sense of tension, metaphorically reflecting the anxiety one feels when waiting for something important.