tightrope walk

Noun

tightrope walk (plural tightrope walks)

1. An instance of walking on a tightrope.
   • Stunts like tightrope walks and barrel plunges were later banned at the falls, with fines of up to $10,000.2011 August 5, “Down to the Wire”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 Jun 2022
   • In 1859, French acrobat Charles Blondin dazzled Americans with his tightrope walks, the most famous of which were his repeated crossings of Niagara Falls.2020 November 20, David S. Reynolds, “Channeling Lincoln’s ideological balancing act will lead Biden to success”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC...

   Synonyms:

   rope dance

2. (figuratively) A perilous course between alternatives.
   • Mr. Donofrio's strategy is a tightrope walk. He is trying to preserve as much of the traditional mainframe business as possible, while remaking the big machines, replacing their large, power-hungry processors with more efficient computer-on-a-chip microprocessors, which drive work stations and...1993 October 26, Steve Lohr, “Present at the Transition of I.B.M.”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 May 2015
   • The RSS mouthpiece, meanwhile, termed this as a historical opportunity but cautioned that running the government would be a tightrope walk. “Though running this government will be a tightrope walk, especially for the PDP, if interests of the people of J&K are kept in mind, this will be a historic...2015 March 1, Naseer Ganai, Kumar Vikram, “BJP and PDP join hands to govern J&K... but new Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed mars the day by thanking 'Pakistan, Hurriyat and militants'”, in Daily...