Dictionary

tightrope-walk en · NOUN

Etymology

The verb is a back-formation from tightrope walking.

Meanings

1. (alt-of, alternative) Alternative form of tightrope walk.
   alt of tightrope walk
   • Olszewski made some nice moves, received key blocks by Rashod Berry, and Donte Moncrief and did a nice tightrope-walk along the sideline. 2020 December 7, Jim McBride, “Patriots do no wrong in romp”, in The Boston Globe, volume 298, number 160, Boston, Mass., →ISSN, →OCLC, page C2, column 4:
   • "Rocket Full of Pie" is pure visual comedy, involving baked goods that need to be thrown off a boat and a tightrope-walk across a very long muffler. 2009 January 25, Ed Park, “Joan Aiken's Armitage family is charming - and magical”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 15 Jan 2015:
   • That’s five innings the hard way for Quakertown, which left eight runners stranded as Pennridge tightrope-walked out of danger. […] Four or five more games like yesterday’s, and the Lady Rams will have tightrope-walked their way deep into the state tournament. 1988 June 1, Ron Kohl, “Lady Rams Tightrope-Walked Their Way to Victory”, in News-Herald, 106th year, number 5584, Perkasie, Pa., →OCLC, page 18, columns 1 and 3:
   • He tightrope-walked to a Game 2 save, giving up back-to-back, two-out singles to Corey Dickerson and Yadier Molina before getting Tommy Edman to foul out. 2022 October 10, Scott Lauber, “Phillies: Soon, the Phils will bring playoffs home at last”, in The Philadelphia Inquirer, volume 193, number 132, Philadelphia, Pa.: The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, →ISSN, →OCLC, page C3, column 3:
   • The audacity, the outrageousness, the dazzling changes of tone, the tightrope-walk between heart-pounding thrills and laugh-out-loud black comedy that made the first season so fresh and original were laboured and formulaic second time around. 2020 May 26, Pat Stacey, “Killing Eve’s deadly weapon is boredom”, in The Herald, volume 129, number 126, Dublin, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 23, column 2:
   • [Marshall] Goldberg then rounded his own right end and tightrope-walked the side chalk mark for 18 yards and a first down on the Washington 35. 1937 January 2, Lee Bastajian, “LaRue Shines in Panther Triumph”, in Daily News, Los Angeles, Calif., →OCLC, page 19, column 3:

Forms

tightrope-walk en · VERB

Etymology

The verb is a back-formation from tightrope walking.

Meanings

1. (ambitransitive) To walk on a tightrope or on (something) as though on one.
   • In Santa Monica, a daredevil tightrope-walks across a swing set. 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:
   • An East German circus artist tightrope-walked across a switched-off power line that had been left from pre-wall days. 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:
   • It was just 78 years ago that […] [Charles] Blondin tightrope-walked across the Niagara, […] 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:
   • 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. 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:
   • 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?” 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:
2. (figuratively) To take a perilous course between alternatives.
   • 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. 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:
   • 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.” 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:
   • [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. 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:
   • 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. 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:
   • Several of the “Biden 16” are like [Brian] Fitzgerald, winning year after year by tightrope-walking between challengers in primaries and general elections. 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:

Forms

Relateds

tightrope walking · tightrope walk · tightrope walker

Synonyms

tightrope