off-topic - bated breath
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: off-topic - bated breath
- From: s*@aristotle.net (J. Michael, Celia or Ben Storey)
- Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 13:25:22 -0700 (MST)
Ellen asks
> I am waiting with baited breath (what does that mean anyway ? )
> for the tons of '97 catalogs I ordered.
"Waiting with baited breath" is a joke derived from the old adage "waiting
with bated breath." To bate meant either to restrain, check or, sometimes,
to flutter. So waiting with bated breath meant holding one's breath.
Waiting with baited breath, on the other hand, meant having eaten something
smelly intended variously to attract or repel a conversation partner.
celia
storey@aristotle.net USDA Zone 7b
Little Rock, Arkansas
