Walking on a tight rope

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi

Do we walk a tightrope or walk on a tightrope? Also what do we call a person who does that?

Thanks in advance,

Tom

2

Hi Tom,

‘Walk a tightrope’ is figurative and ‘walk on a tightrope’ is literal. You walk a tightrope when you are in a delicate situation and you have to be very diplomatic because you don’t want to upset either side in a dispute or argument. This is the sort of position that an arbitrator has to take when there is a strike between management and employees. ‘Walk on a tightrope’ is an act in a circus for example or that famous occasion when a man (forgotten his name) walked on a wire (rope) strung between the Twin Towers in New York’s World Trade Center.

Alan

3

Thankyou, Alan.

Could you please also tell me what we call a person who walks on a tightrope?

Tom

4

They are simply called “tightrope walkers” :slight_smile:

5

I think you can use “walk a tightrope” and “walk on a tightrope” in both literal and figurative meanings. However, “walk a tightrope” is more commonly figurative.

In the circus, when someone is literally walking a tightrope, we usually say he is walking the tightrope.

6

In my dictionary, “walk a tight rope” means both in the circus and delicate situation. Is it right?

7

A less common word than “tightrope walker” is “funambulist”.

MrP