Bated breath idiom meaning

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Bated breath idiom meaning

At the end of your tether because you are treated as a dogsbody? Falconry and the sea are two rich sources of English expressions. Quirky idioms have embellished everyday English language for centuries, as you will be aware if someone rubbed you up the wrong way recently by jumping the gun out of the blue. When hangry , bants and manspreading made it into the dictionary last month, it was further recognition of the creative new ways we find to communicate. The bird can become short of breath as it flies on the spot, waiting to be released by its handler. A tether is another word for the string tied to a falcon to stop it flying off. This phrase comes from the action of a bird, typically a young, untrained falcon, who bates from his perch — hence being at the end of your tether, meaning being a bit frustrated, to say the least. A haggard falcon is one that is caught from the wild as an adult. They can often look a bit underweight and worse for wear, shall we say, hence the word being a little less than complimentary. This phrase has come to mean having someone under your control, usually in a relationship. Knowing this makes the phrase a little bit less funny, somehow. You might refer to yourself as a dogsbody if your job requires a lot of running around, doing tasks no one else is willing to do. But there would at least be the promise of a room temperature sandwich and wrinkly satsuma to help break up the day. This phrase comes from the Roman custom of paying soldiers and sailors part of their wages in salt.

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Forget doing it or forget to do it? Avoiding common mistakes with verb patterns 2. Add to word list Add to word list. I waited with bated breath as the results were read out. Translations of with bated breath.

The idea being that one couldn't hold one's breath long enough for the unlikely thing to happen. If know you hope Monica comes to the meeting, but don't hold your breath—she hasn't been to one all year. The phrase suggests that one is breathing shallowly in anticipation of something. I've been waiting with bated breath to hear back from my first-choice school. Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. Do not stop breathing waiting for something to happen that won't happen. Meaning that it will take longer for it to happen than you can possibly hold your breath. Tom: The front yard is such a mess.

Bated breath idiom meaning

Which is it - bated or baited? We have baited hooks and baited traps, but bated - what's that? Bated doesn't even seem to be a real word, where else do you hear it? Having said that, 'baited breath' makes little sense either. How can breath be baited? With worms? There seems little guidance in contemporary texts. Search in Google and you'll find about the same number of hits for 'baited breath' as 'bated breath'.

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English—French French—English. Primary School. Register now or log in to access. Dictionary Entries Near with bated breath. Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms. Read about the team of authors behind Collins Dictionaries. Read More. Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English. English has surprises covered! Italian grammar. Please subscribe or login to access full text content. Articles Related to with bated breath. Love words? English Pronunciation.

Why is this a common idiom in American English? And where did it originate?

Cite this Entry. Secondary School. Korean English to Korean. English synonyms. Tell us about this example sentence:. Grammar Thesaurus. Forget doing it or forget to do it? English Dictionary Sentences Grammar. Korean to English. Sign in with your library card Please enter your library card number. Your current browser may not support copying via this button. Popular in Wordplay See All. Photograph: Alamy. Avoiding common mistakes with verb patterns 2 March 06,