tightropen.
Now frequently as one word.
A tightly stretched rope, wire, or wire cable, on which rope-dancers and acrobats perform feats of equilibristic skill. Also figurative. (Contrasted with slack-rope n.)
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > acrobatic performance > [noun] > rope-walking or dancing > rope or wire
ropeeOE
low rope?c1635
slack-rope1749
slack wire1753
tightrope1801
blondin1863
high wire1863
slackline2002
1801 J. Strutt Sports & Pastimes iii. iv. 159 Tumbling and jumping through a hoop..and dancing upon the tight rope.
1861 W. M. Thackeray Four Georges iv. 176 A charming young prince who danced deliciously on the tight-rope.
1934 Ess. & Stud. 19 123 He moves with complete security on the tight-rope of serio-comic wit.
1959 Daily Tel. 30 Nov. 1 For 35 minutes the Deputy Leader balanced himself on a verbal tightrope which purported to bridge the awesome gap within the party.
1979 Sci. Amer. Nov. 126/3 The nocturnal S. laevistriatus beetles are on an energy tightrope.
Compounds
General attributive.
tightrope dancer n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > acrobatic performance > [noun] > acrobat > rope-walker or dancer
walker on ropes1542
funambulo1605
funambulus1607
funambulant1608
rope-walker1611
rope-dancer1627
funambulator1658
funambuler1659
funambule1697
wire dancer1752
equilibrist1760
wire-walker1762
funambulist1789
schoenobatist1821
tightrope dancer1824
aerialist1869
tightrope walker1869
wire-worker1918
blondin1934
1824 Advt. (Theatre-Royal, Worcester) in Henry Bristow Ltd. Catal. (1973) No. 205 The celebrated Mr. Wilson, the tight rope dancer.
1890 Spectator 22 Nov. 729/2 An interview with a tight-rope dancer.
tightrope dancing n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > acrobatic performance > [noun] > rope-walking or dancing
rope-dancing1625
rope-walking1625
funambuling1650
funambulation1707
rope dance1727
wire-dancing1755
tightrope dancing1800
funambulism1801
wire-walking1804
wire act1891
wirework1899
slacklining1999
1800 W. Dyott Diary July (1907) I. 138 Besides rural sports in the gardens, such as gipsies guying, lofty tumbling and tight-rope dancing.
1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. I. xiii. 509 Billiard-playing, rifle-shooting, tight-rope-dancing, demand the most delicate appreciation of minute disparities of sensation.
tightrope walk n.
ΚΠ
1952 R. A. Knox Hidden Stream vi. 55 We, in this tight-rope-walk business of trying to live our lives..want more than a metaphysical conviction that God exists.
tightrope walker n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > acrobatic performance > [noun] > acrobat > rope-walker or dancer
walker on ropes1542
funambulo1605
funambulus1607
funambulant1608
rope-walker1611
rope-dancer1627
funambulator1658
funambuler1659
funambule1697
wire dancer1752
equilibrist1760
wire-walker1762
funambulist1789
schoenobatist1821
tightrope dancer1824
aerialist1869
tightrope walker1869
wire-worker1918
blondin1934
1869 Atlantic Monthly July 83/2 This tight-rope walker was one of the most exemplary domestic little bodies imaginable.
1910 Encycl. Brit. IV. 77/1 Blondin (1824–1897), French tight~rope walker and acrobat.
1979 R. Jaffe Class Reunion (1980) ii. xi. 287 When he was drunk he had a slow and precise quality, like a tightrope walker.
1982 C. Castle Folies Bergère i. 24 Tightrope walkers, magicians and sleight-of-hand artists..attracted Parisians and tourists.
tightrope-walking n.
ΚΠ
1958 Spectator 30 May 675/1 Admiral Auboyneau, who had been doing some tightrope-walking of his own in the previous weeks, finally came out for the rebels.
1981 Times Lit. Suppl. 3 Apr. 368/2 Ours is the age of heartless efficiency and tight-rope-walking virtuosity in music.
Derivatives
ˈtightrope v. (intransitive) to perform on the tightrope; transitive to walk along as if on a tightrope.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > walking > walk upon or tread [verb (transitive)] > walk carefully, as if on tightrope
tightrope1858
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > acrobatic performance > perform acrobatics [verb (intransitive)] > rope-walk
tightrope1858
funambulate1865
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [noun] > insecurity > precariousness > precarious situation
a matter of life and (also or) deatha1631
neck-question1655
touch and go1816
tightrope1858
razor-edge1861
shaky do1942
1858 A. Mayhew Paved with Gold ii. vii A small..garden, intersected with gravel paths not broader than deal boards, which entailed balancing on those who tight-roped its walks.
1908 Daily Chron. 1 Feb. 5/6 He has tumbled and tight-roped, slept under hedges, and accepted presents from reigning potentates.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
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n.1800