The phrase “suspended breath” means to eagerly anticipate something, but many people don’t know its origin. It is often confused with the homophone “bated”. The phrase has been used since Shakespeare’s time and refers to stopped breathing. It is commonly used for immediate events.
To wait with “suspended breath” means to eagerly anticipate something, to be intensely focused on some future event. The phrase has become a regular part of idiomatic speech in most English-speaking areas of the world, but even many native English speakers may not recognize its true derivation and origin. In this idiom, the word “suspended” describes the breath as held or constrained, in accordance with the idea that intense anticipation often causes the breath to be held or restricted.
One of the most interesting things about the phrase “suspended breath” is that in its specific idiomatic form, in English it functions as a homophone, part of a pair of words that sound the same but are spelled differently. This has led to deep confusion about the meaning of the word “bated”. The other form of the word, “bait,” refers to the idea of using food or another type of bait to trap or capture certain fish or animals.
In modern times, many of the people who use this phrase may perceive it in the wrong way and if pressed may even misspelt the phrase on paper. The correct form for the popular idiom is “suspended breath”. This misconception may have dogged the phrase throughout its use, but some ideas about dynamic changes in the English language suggest that modern speakers no longer understand the original intent of using these two words together.
To return to the original idea, readers can find the phrase used, for example, in the plays of William Shakespeare in the Elizabethan age. Here, the use of this phrase can clearly be seen and understood as a contraction of “stopped breathing,” giving the more modern phrase a more direct meaning. The word “lowered” means restricted, restricted or constrained, in keeping with the meaning of the modern idiom.
In modern English, the term suspended breath usually refers to immediate or momentary activity, although it can be used with a longer time frame. For example, a finance professional might write “we all waited with bated breath for that morning’s opening bell,” where the activity in question is immediate.
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