Despite the reel, Shakespeare was no fisherman
Category: Books & Writing...
Posted Thursday, September 14, 2006 at 04:55 PM [GMT-6]

My vocabularistic skills were called into questionicity by certain commentatoristas in the previous posterific entry.

Specifically, some questioned the spelling of "bated" (as in "bated breath"), feeling, believing, or otherwise wishing the spelling to be "baited" (as in "baited hook"). One commenter did provide some helpful correction, and I figured I'd follow up with additional insight.

This comes from Garner's Modern American Usage, a book no writer, blogger, or student of the English language should fail to have close at hand:

bated breath is the phrase from Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice": "Or shall I bend low and in a bondman's key, with bated breath and whisp'ring humbleness, say this..." (1.2.122-25). The idea is that breath is abated, or stopped.

The author goes on to say "baited breath is a bungle," and then quotes excerpts from a couple of well-respected newspapers in which the phrase is, well, bungled.

You may now disabate your breath and return to your regularly scheduled respiration.

Permalink
Comments

Is The Jim in town? How cool! Are you showing off Midland at it's best?

Posted by: Janie at September 14, 2006 05:58 PM

He's gone already...just a quick dropin on his way to who-knows-where. He's got another 10 days or so on the road so he can make some serious tracks...

Posted by: Eric at September 14, 2006 06:01 PM

What? He's gone already? Better check the guest bedroom to see if anything is missing. ;-)

Posted by: Gwynne at September 14, 2006 07:32 PM
Post a comment [Take your time...we're in no hurry.]
Note: You must provide either a website URL or an email address...but there's no rule that says you have to tell the truth. If you don't want your email address published on this site, just input a website URL, or make up an email address.









Remember personal info?