Something to prove
January 6, 2011 at 7:22 am 2 comments
My sourdough loaf, proving in a tin
This sourdough was made from an 18-month-old culture I found in the back of the cupboard. It rose beautifully overnight, I’ve now shaped it for proving. Waiting with baited breath (what does that actually mean???)
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Entry filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: baited breath, sourdough.
1.
andy bloom | January 7, 2011 at 7:12 am
Bated and baited sound the same and we no longer use bated outside this one set phrase, which has become an idiom. Confusion is almost inevitable. Bated here is a contraction of abated through loss of the unstressed first vowel (a process called aphesis); it means “reduced, lessened, lowered in force”. So bated breath refers to a state in which you almost stop breathing as a result of some strong emotion, such as terror or awe.
2.
thestatusupdate | January 8, 2011 at 9:21 am
Why thank you Mr Bloom! A’bated, as in flood waters (hopefully).