Idiom 37: Don’t hold your breath

Don’t hold your breath

Hi. Let’s take a look at the idiom, “don’t hold your breath”. When you tell someone ”Don’t hold your breath”, you mean that they should not expect something to happen. They shouldn’t wait.

People usually hold their breaths when they are stressed or excited. Like this girl here.

It is her birthday today, and her mother is giving her a present. She has her eyes closed, her face covered, and she looks really excited about what she will receive. She is holding her breath too.

Our idiom “don’t hold your breath” tells the opposite: the person shouldn’t expect anything because it might never happen. They could never hold their breath long enough for the unlikely thing to ever happen.

Like, “Hey, Jonah. I’ve bought a lottery ticket today and might win £1 million.”

“Yeah, sure. Don’t hold your breath, though.” (=It’s highly unlikely that you’ll win.)

But what is the origin of this idiom?

Shakespeare used a phrase similar to “hold your breath” in The Merchant of Venice in 1596: “Shall I bend low in a bondman’s key, with bated breath and whispering humbleness.” 

In plain English: Should I bend down like a servant holding my breath in front of my master.

However, the first usage of the actual phrase “Don’t hold your breath” in the idiomatic sense dates back to 1854 when a story of a man who wanted to plunge over a waterfall (The Man Over the Falls) was published in The American Citizen, an influential newspaper in New York in the 1800’s.

“Don’t hold your breath, dear reader, for he is entirely safe now, and survives to tell his own story.” Meaning: Don’t expect big drama; or don’t worry because he’s all right.

Let’s take a look at our illustration.

In this image the little boy is not breathing. This is because he is so excited about the possibility that he might get a present that he stops breathing. He is literally holding his breath expecting a present. If his parents don’t have this present and cannot afford it, and if no one else is able to get it for him then we would be correct in telling him “don’t hold your breath”.

Here are some examples before we go to the concept questions…

“I’m going to wash the dishes for the entire year if you buy me a laptop.” “Yeah. Don’t hold your breath.” (= It’s not going to happen.)

“Susie, don’t hold your breath for world peace in the near future.”

“Jimmy, don’t hold your breath on becoming an astronaut. It is highly unlikely.”

“One day, I am going to win a gold medal in the Olympics.” “You sure? Don’t hold your breath.”

“In a perfect world there would be no car crashes, but don’t hold your breath.”

Great.

Let’s look at some situations and check your understanding:

Monica, a colleague of yours, hasn’t shown up to any of the daily work meetings for at least a month, but your manager is hopeful that she will show this time. In this situation, would it be correct to say to your boss, “Don’t hold your breath on Monica’s attendance today”? Yes. There is no rational reason to expect her to show up this time.

There is a politician who has been lying about most things he promised throughout his career. This politician is telling everyone that if they vote for his political party, then he will pay everyone’s utility bills for an entire year. You hear about this from your friend. If you responded, “Don’t hold your breath”, would you mean that you believe the promises? No. “Don’t hold your breath” means you don’t have any expectations.

Harry parks his car in the underground parking lot of the supermarket. You go into the shop with him to help him with the bags. On the way out of the supermarket, Harry tells you that you can go ahead and open the car, and you’ll find it in sector B. Would you be justified in replying “don’t hold your breath”? No. A parked car should remain in its place; so we expect Harry’s car to stay in Sector B, where it has been parked.

An old farmer tells his neighbour about his plan to become a billionaire in the next year. If his neighbour responded to him, “Don’t hold your breath”, would he imply that he could or could not become a billionaire overnight? “Don’t hold your breath” would imply he doesn’t think this is a realistic goal.

It is a normal Saturday afternoon. Mary wants to go to the cinema with her husband Joe. Mary tells Joe that the cinema is open. Would it be reasonable for Joe to reply, “Don’t hold your breath,” to Mary? No. It is a normal Saturday, so cinemas must be open.