1
walk a tightrope
既可用于杂技表演的本义，也可比喻在两种对立要求之间艰难平衡。
After the scandal, the mayor has been walking a tightrope between public opinion and party loyalty.
丑闻发生后，市长一直在公众舆论和党内忠诚之间走钢丝。
绷紧的绳索或钢丝
tightropes — plural of tightrope
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
绷紧的绳索或钢丝
a rope or wire stretched tight high above the ground, on which acrobats perform
After the scandal, the mayor has been walking a tightrope between public opinion and party loyalty.
丑闻发生后，市长一直在公众舆论和党内忠诚之间走钢丝。
绷紧的绳索；高空杂技表演用的钢丝
A tightly stretched rope or cable on which acrobats perform high above the ground.
紧绷的绳索或钢丝,杂技演员在高空表演用
tightly stretched rope or wire on which acrobats perform high above the ground
困境；绝境；危险的局面
A difficult or desperate situation.
The acrobat walked across the tightrope without a safety net.
杂技演员在没有安全网的情况下走钢丝。
She practiced on the tightrope for hours before the circus show.
她在马戏表演前练习走钢丝练了好几个小时。
Watching the performer balance on the tightrope made the audience hold their breath.
看着表演者在钢丝上保持平衡，观众们屏住了呼吸。
既可用于杂技表演的本义，也可比喻在两种对立要求之间艰难平衡。
After the scandal, the mayor has been walking a tightrope between public opinion and party loyalty.
丑闻发生后，市长一直在公众舆论和党内忠诚之间走钢丝。
常与be动词连用，表示处境岌岌可危、随时可能失败。
The peace talks are on a tightrope after both sides refused to compromise.
双方都拒绝妥协后，和谈如同走钢丝一般岌岌可危。
名词tightrope可直接修饰另一名词作定语，如tightrope walker（走钢丝者）。
The tightrope walker performed without a safety net over the city square.
走钢丝者在城市广场上空没有安全网进行表演。
Not this
He is walking on tightrope.
Use this
He is walking on a tightrope.
tightrope 是可数名词单数，前面必须加冠词；汉语没有冠词，所以容易漏掉，应加 a 表示“一根绷紧的绳索/钢丝”。
Not this
The acrobat performs at the tightrope.
Use this
The acrobat performs on the tightrope.
表示在绳索或钢丝上面表演/行走时，介词要用 on（接触表面），不能用 at（at 指“在……处/附近”，不能表达“站在上面”）。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
走钢丝；如履薄冰
The circus performer walked a tightrope twenty meters above the ground.
马戏团演员在离地面二十米高的钢丝上行走。
走钢丝的人
A tightrope walker needs extraordinary balance and concentration.
走钢丝的人需要非凡的平衡感和专注力。
在钢丝上表演
She has performed on a tightrope since she was a teenager.
她从十几岁起就在钢丝上表演。
在钢丝上保持平衡
The acrobat balanced on a tightrope without using a safety net.
那位杂技演员没有使用安全网就在钢丝上保持了平衡。
从钢丝上摔下来
No one was injured when the clown fell from a tightrope.
小丑从钢丝上摔下来时没有人受伤。
走钢丝节目；惊险的举动
Their tightrope act drew the largest crowd at the festival.
他们的走钢丝节目吸引了节日上最多的观众。
走钢丝；在两种风险之间艰难平衡
The government is walking a tightrope between cutting taxes and maintaining public services.
政府正在削减税收和维持公共服务之间走钢丝。
处于岌岌可危的境地；必须小心行事
The company is on a tightrope, trying to avoid bankruptcy while restructuring.
这家公司正在走钢丝，一边重组一边努力避免破产。
走钢丝而从不跌倒是不可能的。
Lyric from the song 'Tightrope' by Janelle Monáe featuring Big Boi (2010). It expresses that failure is a natural part of taking risks.
出自 Janelle Monáe 与 Big Boi 合作的歌曲《Tightrope》（2010年）。它表达了失败是冒险过程的一部分。
发长 /aɪ/ 音 (如 high, light)
Same pattern, same sound
Use tightropes naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
想象杂技演员走在绷紧的绳上，绳子拉得很紧（tight）才能走，tight + rope 就是“绷紧的绳”。
语域：neutral 常见场景：circus、acrobatic performance、tightrope walking 作名词时通常指马戏团或杂技表演中绷紧的绳索或钢丝，属于中性语域，在口语和书面描述中都比较常见；多用于表演或相关活动场景。
These words share the final spelling -ope and the /oʊp/ sound of tightrope's second syllable: rope, hope, scope, slope, cope, grope. Rope and grope also contain the exact spelling chunk rope. Be careful with lookalikes like ripe and type (/raɪp/, /taɪp/): they look close to rope but are pronounced with /aɪp/, not /oʊp/.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.