Quote:
Scott Harrington wrote:
Let me say I wait with baited breath ...
|
I love this malaprop. It is so commonly made because the older form of language is so unfamiliar, and so I pass on the point -- as my English teacher once passed it on to me when I did the same ... .
"
baited breath": I always have this image of the cat eating cheese to catch the mouse ...
"bated breath" as in "abate" or halted. Holding one's breath in anticipation...
I still like the cat and mouse image better, though ...
Which one would be Peter, though? .....hmmmmm....