This week's segment is another lightning round, where we managed to answer several questions, even though there was some dilly dallying involved.
We kicked things off with a look at the phrase "bated breath." That's What They Say co-host Rebecca Kruth wondered if there was an easy way to remember that it's spelled "bated," not "baited."
In the case of "bated breath," "bated" means "lowered" or "lessened." If your breath is bated, that means your breath is subdued or held back, perhaps in fear or expectation.
As is often the case, we have Shakespeare to thank for the origin of this phrase. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "bated breath" first appears in the Merchant of Venice in 1600.
If you find ever yourself confused over the spelling, just remember that the "bate" in "bated breath" is a shortened form of "abate."
During the rest of our lightning round, we looked a possible new meaning of the verb "to stage" and the origin of "dilly dally." To hear those discussions, stop shilly shallying and listen to the audio above.
