I thought it would be appropriate to give a bit of history on Dagwood Bumstead, since this expression is the second in succession from that comic strip. Wikipedia says Dagwood was the “…heir to the Bumstead Locomotive fortune, but was disowned when he married a flapper (originally known as Blondie Boopadoop)…” Dagwood went to work for the J.C. Dithers & Company as the office manager.

In the recent Sunday comic Dagwood inquires, “Has Dithers pitched a fit about anything lately?” The Urban Dictionary says the expression, “pitch a fit” describes “…an emotional outburst using verbal and animated expression normally seen in the Southern United States.” In baseball the pitcher throws the ball, which is apparently the source of the variation to “throw a fit.” There is an expanded definition of “fit”, which can be caused by both physical ailments or emotional reactions given in the explanation “fits and starts” posted previously.

Phrases, Clichés, Expressions, and Sayings says this slang expression, which Dagwood used in a recent comic to describe why he thought his barber had given him a bad haircut, originated in the 1980s to describe someone trying to annoy or get a reaction. The story given is that the female mayor of Ottawa was introduced to the mayor of London. She had a flower in her lapel, and he was bedecked in medals and chains. He asks haughtily, “If I sniff your rose, will you blush?” She replied, “And if I pull your chain, will you flush?”

My interpretation of what is given in Yahoo Answers is that people who keep their heads down (the shorter trees) experience less conflict than those who draw attention (the taller trees that catch the wind, or in a slightly different version, catch much wind.) The person mentioning the expression gave the impression they were alerting me that I should be prepared for criticism of my book about Rocky Flats and my contention in the blog that the wildlife refuge surrounding the former plant location would be safe to visit with my family.

Wiktionary says the expression was first recorded in 1803, and was perhaps a euphemism for Holy Mary. Yahoo Answers describes it as one of many “mock” or “silly oaths” used to express surprise, emotion, or anger in a non-offensive manner. The expression apparently originated from the term “mackerel snappers,” a mock term for Catholics and their practice of eating fish on Fridays. There is an endless list of companion expressions, such as holy cow, holy buckets, and holy almost anything else. The list was expanded by the Batman and Robin television show in which Robin would exclaim something such as, “Holy felony, Batman,” or some other variation depending on the situation.

The explanation of this expression is a bit embarrassing, because I completely misunderstood it as a youngster.  I thought it was “baited breath,” and that it must have something to with the rank bait my Dad used for catfish. Of course, it turns out that the word is “bated,” and according to Dictionary.com, it means, “…with bated breath, with breath drawn in or held because of anticipation or suspense.” The example given is, “We watched with bated breath as the runners approached the finish.”  For people who have seen the movie, Secretariat, you can imagine the people at the track collectively holding their breath until they saw which horse won a close race.  From Straighdope.com, bated breath has been around since Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, “With bated breath, and whispring humblenesse.”

Answers.com says the first half of this expression originated from a literal description of a Lord being fitted into a suit of armor before a battle and being told he is “dressed fit to kill.”  The expression evolved into meaning the same as “dressed to the nines,” which means someone dressed in the highest possible style. That expression is believed to have come from the fact that the number nine is the highest possible single digit.