The phrase “hare’s breath” is often used instead of “width of a hair,” but it is a malapropism. Homophones in English can cause confusion, and using the correct phrase is important. “Width of a hair” refers to a narrow margin or missed opportunity. Using incorrect variations like “fur breathing” or “hair breath” is senseless and wrong. It’s important to review written material to avoid mistakes caused by homophones.
The phrase “hare’s breath” is a malapropism commonly used by people meaning “the width of a hair”. While “hare breathing” makes at least one sense, other variants of this malapropism, such as “fur breathing,” are totally illogical. The confusion about this phrase reflects a common problem with homophones in the English language: Because “hair” and “hare” and “breath” and “breadth” sound so similar, people sometimes mix words when writing, especially if they haven’t never seen the sentence written before.
Properly, the term “width of a hair” is usually used to refer to a narrow escape or a missed opportunity up close. The width of a hair is really quite small, and the width of a hair between two objects or events would be a very narrow margin. You may also hear phrases like “came in a mustache,” in a variation on the width of a hair. An example of the correct use of this phrase is: “we came within a whisker of getting that contract, but the other company denied us”.
Some people try to defend “hare breathing” by suggesting that it refers to something that happens very quickly, much like a rabbit’s breathing. However, since all colloquial uses of this idiom revolve around something that almost happens, rather than something that happens very quickly, this explanation doesn’t hold up very well, and is probably a retroformation intended to justify a common malapropism. Unless we are talking about the breathing habits of hares, “hare breath” is incorrect, and “hare width” would also be incorrect, unless a hare is used as the unit of measurement, which seems unlikely.
Besides “hair breath,” another creative variation on this commonly misguided idiom is “hair breath.” Both of these uses are senseless as well as wrong, unless the hair has hitherto unknown biological properties.
For English language learners, homophones can be particularly frustrating, as the existence of multiple words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings can be very confusing. All variations of this idiom sound the same when spoken aloud, but have very different meanings. Slipping can be seen as an elementary mistake by a proficient English user and tends to detract from the overall quality of a written communication. Because homophones can be tricky, it’s a good idea to ask someone to review a piece of written material before posting it or sending it to someone else, to make sure obvious mistakes like “hare’s breath” or “fur breath” don’t stick around. .
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