strong
delicate (usually figurative), fine, fragile (usually figurative), thin
Our lives hang by a fragile thread.

loose
matching
cotton, gold, silk, etc.
embroidery, sewing
warp, weft

length, piece

spin
pull
You've pulled a thread in your sweater.

cut

hanging by a thread (often figurative)
The player's career is hanging by a thread after this latest injury to his knee.

needle and thread

central, main
common, connecting
consistent, continuous
narrative, plot
loose
Apart from one or two loose threads, the police now had the complete picture of what happened.

have
These stories have no real common thread.

follow, trace
I found it hard to follow the main thread of his argument.

find
Police have not been able to find a common thread linking the victims.

lose
The speaker lost his thread halfway through the talk.

keep
She struggled against all the interruptions to keep the thread of her argument.

draw together, pick up, pull together, weave
The author eventually picks up the various threads of the plot and weaves them into a masterly conclusion.

run through sth
A continuous thread runs through all the versions of the legend.

connect, link
emerge
On studying the different historians' accounts, common threads emerge.

unravel
As the movie progresses, the threads of the plot slowly begin to unravel.

comment, discussion

open, start