[Osage Orange]

Is it bated....or baited?

I don't know....

[rightwingcrazy]

I only bait my breath if I want to catch a fish with it.

[nopardons]

It's bated.

[BatGuano]

Bated, unless you have a worm in your mouth..

[FrankR]

I think it would be, “...abated breath”...as in “holding your breath”.

[Ed Condon]

“Bated” is one of the many words Shakespeare invented (or at least he was the first person to put the word on a piece of paper that survived to this day).

“Bated” is a form of “abate,” which means “to diminish, beat down, or reduce.” So when you’re waiting with bated (read: abated) breath, you’re so eager, anxious, excited, or frightened that you’re almost holding your breath.
Ain’t the interweb wonnerful?