Re: off-topic - bated breath
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: off-topic - bated breath
- From: "* A* M* <w*@Ra.MsState.Edu>
- Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 17:16:55 -0700 (MST)
On Wed, 26 Feb 1997, J. Michael, Celia or Ben Storey wrote:
> 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
>
>
>
Scope?
