“I’m waiting with bated breath.”
Those words have been said millions of times, and yet people who write them (even reputable media) often confuse ‘bated’ with ‘baited.”
Bated breath is short for abated breath. It means taking the breath away. Makes sense. Or does it? Last week I asked several people what ‘bated breath’ meant.
“Baited breath. Like fish bait. Means bad breath,” was one reply.
I suppose you could be ‘waiting with bad breath’ but the person you are waiting for will likely be unhappy about it. I knew a woman once who ate a lot of sushi and her breath lived up the above definition.
Another said, “It means hassling, like a dog.”
Okay, that is closer. I suppose a dog can have bated breath, but it is more likely to have doo doo breath.
“Baited breath?” said the last person. “Are you talking about those mint strips?”
Ah, no.
In the South, we use a lot of phrases that make bated and baited breath seem normal. A selection is below:
- This job is one tough row to hoe. (often misused as ‘a tough road to hoe’)
- I’m busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest. (a contest I have heard about often but never witnessed)
- That dog was on him like white on rice. (someone worked hard on this one)
- She was grinning like a jackass eating briars. (a delicacy, I suppose, among jackasses)
- Your ass is grass and I’m the lawnmower. (as you can see, there is an ‘ass’ pattern forming among Southern phrases)
- If she was hauling ass, she’d have to make two trips. (see above)
- My shoes are tighter and a frog’s butt in a big lake. (butts are a big subject)
- Your face could stop an 8-day clock. (not a compliment)
- Boy, you’re as worthless as teets on a bore hog. (but wouldn’t teets on a bore hog be useful?)
- If my grandpaw had breasts, he’d be my grandma. (not necessarily; he might just have a serious doobie stash)
- It’s darker than six-feet up a bull’s rear outside tonight. (that is dark)
- Don’t let your alligator mouth overload your jaybird ass. (there it is again)
- He’s so clumsy he could tear up a steel ball. (I know a guy who actually did this)
Perhaps ‘waiting with bated breath’ is not so odd after all.