What does holding on by a thread mean?
William Rodriguez
Updated on April 10, 2026
Accordingly, what does it mean to be on a thread?
Be in a risky or unstable situation, as in His promotion was hanging by a thread, or With the lead actor sick, the success of our play hung by a hair. This expression, already proverbial in the early 1500s, alludes to Damocles, who vexed King Dionysius with constant flattery.
Similarly, is hanging by a thread? If you say that something is hanging by a thread, you mean that it is in a very uncertain state and is unlikely to survive or succeed.
People also ask, where does the phrase hanging by a thread come from?
The term hanging by a thread, derives from the banquet that King Dionysius held for Damocles, a courtier of ancient Syracuse. King Dionysius was beginning to become annoyed with Damocles' constant flattery of his king. He invited him to a banquet, where Damocles was seated under a sword suspended by a single hair.
What does Thred mean?
1 : a thin fine cord formed by spinning and twisting short fibers into a continuous strand. 2 : a thin fine line or strand of something a thread of light.
Related Question Answers
How do you reply to a thread?
Reply to a thread in Discussions- Locate the thread you want to reply to.
- Click Reply to Thread to reply to the main thread post or click Reply to reply to a particular post inside the thread.
- Enter your reply in the HTML Editor.
- Set any other options you want.
- Click Post.