The best thing about my job is the crap people ask me that has nothing to do with my job.
Question of the Day: What’s the origin of the phrase, “Waiting with baited breath?”
Well Researched Answer: Well...it’s actually spelled “bated” and is a phonetically shortened form of the word “abated.” So the literal meaning of the phrase is “waiting with shortened breath.” (Billy Boy clipped it for increased iambic pentameter value in The Merchant of Venice. Silly poet...clips are for kids.)
So what does this actually have to do with my job? Nothing...I’m just the answer gal for this sort of thing. Because I'm the department's writer...naturally I know all sorts of obscure points of grammar and the etymology of every word in the English language. (Ah...no...not really.) Luckily I have a handy copy of the QPB Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins…so I can amaze my co-workers and win big $$ playing NTN Trivia.
Two weeks ago I corrected a co-worker’s spelling of “tow the line” for about the zillionth time. It should be “toe the line” and is a reference to boxing...not sailing. (Boxers getting up off of the mat after being knocked down would have to put their foot at a pre-marked line on the floor of the ring before the next round could start...so someone who gets up from a beating over and over is “toeing the line” for their manager.)
So...I wonder...can you toe the line while waiting with bated breath?
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