tightrope-walk
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: tightrope-walks
form: tightrope-walking
form: tightrope-walked
form: tightrope-walked
form: tight-rope-walk
form: tightrope walk
Etymology: The verb is a back-formation from tightrope walking.
Senses: examples: text: It was just 78 years ago that […] [Charles] Blondin tightrope-walked across the Niagara, […]
ref: 1937 August 21, “Test Your Knowledge of Current Events in News’ Weekly Quiz”, in Buffalo Evening News, volume CXIV, number 112, Buffalo, N.Y., →OCLC, Saturday Magazine (Fiction, Fact and Radio), page 6, column 6:
text: An East German circus artist tightrope-walked across a switched-off power line that had been left from pre-wall days.
ref: 1979 September 23, A[ssociated] P[ress], “Up against the wall: East Germans find new ways to escape”, in The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Oh.: Plain Dealer Publishing Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 6-E, column 2:
text: In Santa Monica, a daredevil tightrope-walks across a swing set.
ref: 2019 April 9, Chris Erskine, “Amid a super bloom of birthdays, we pause to reflect on life in L.A.”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 09 Apr 2019:
text: As for the Logan siblings, Kendall likens his latest showdown with his father to “a tightrope walk on a straight razor ... Five-hundred-foot reputational drop.” / “Why is that making you smile? That shouldn’t make you smile,” Roman replies. “Who likes tightrope-walking on a straight razor?”
ref: 2023 January 26, Nardine Saad, “New ‘Succession’ trailer teases ‘tightrope walk’ on a razor in for Roy siblings”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 Jan 2023:
text: They clambered over walls and rocks, crossed water (with blowup alligators lurking below) on a zip line, climbed a muddy cargo net out of a water pit and tightrope-walked across logs.
ref: 2024 June 16, Lori Riley, “Gaylord Gauntlet 5K: This man suffered horrific injuries in motorcycle crash […]”, in Hartford Courant, volume CLXXXVIII, number 168, Hartford, Conn., →ISSN, →OCLC, section 4, page 8, column 4:
synonyms: tightrope#Verb
glosses: To walk on a tightrope or on (something) as though on one.
examples: text: In his speech tonight, McCain, who has backed [George Walker] Bush on such controversial issues as tax cuts and the Iraq war, will have to tightrope-walk his way between saluting Bush and making it clear that he’s something different, that he represents change.
ref: 2008 September 4, John Farmer, “Could [John] McCain be the next Teddy [i.e., Theodore Roosevelt]?”, in The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J., →OCLC, page 11, column 1:
text: The Onion often tightrope-walks the line between humor and bad taste, but the satirical news site was forced to apologize Monday morning for a distasteful Twitter joke about Quvenzhane Wallis, the nine-year-old star of “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”
ref: 2013 February 25, Caitlin Dewey, “The Onion apologizes for Quvenzhane Wallis tweet that outraged the Internet”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 Feb 2017:
text: The NBA’s attempt to tightrope-walk through the coronavirus pandemic encountered significant turbulence this week as LeBron James and other stars pushed back against a proposed All-Star Game and Kevin Durant sharply criticized the league after being caught up in a contact tracing mess.
ref: 2021 February 6, Ben Golliver, “Kevin Durant lashes out at NBA health protocols as star players continue to vent frustrations”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 06 Feb 2021:
text: Several of the “Biden 16” are like [Brian] Fitzgerald, winning year after year by tightrope-walking between challengers in primaries and general elections.
ref: 2024 April 21, A[ssociated] P[ress], “Election 2024: Pa. GOP primary fight tests swing district”, in LNP, 229th year, number 310, Lancaster, Pa.: LNP Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, page A9, column 5:
text: [Shaheen] Holloway prefers to go 10 deep, and he was determined to do that this season after tightrope-walking his way through last winter with a seven-man rotation.
ref: 2025 January 10, Jerry Carino, “Coleman’s heroics spark Seton Hall past DePaul”, in Herald News, Woodland Park, N.J.: Gannett Media Corp, →OCLC, page 8S, column 2:
glosses: To take a perilous course between alternatives.
Related terms: tightrope walk
tightrope walker
tightrope walking