don't hold your breath
phraseEtymology
Suggesting that if one were to hold one's breath while waiting for the expected event, one would die before it happened
Definitions
Don't wait. Said cynically to suggest that what has just been mentioned is unlikely to…
Don't wait. Said cynically to suggest that what has just been mentioned is unlikely to happen soon or at all.
- - The government says it's going to introduce free meals for all schoolchildren. - Huh, don't hold your breath.
- Don't hold your breath and don't jump to conclusions, but there is likely to be an announcement about the future of the railways in the next few weeks - [...].
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for don't hold your breath. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA