hold one’s breath—
1. be affected by a sudden emotion, such as amazement, delight, etc.:
- The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire. He held his breath.
2. (coll., often negat.) be waiting impatiently in expectation of smth.:
- I expect the mail to be delivered soon, but I am not holding my breath.
save one’s breath—keep one’s advice, opinion, etc. for oneself for it is unlikely to be heeded:
- Anyways, I saved my breath from an argument and decided to rent from another company.
Cf.: waste one’s breath—talk to a person without him paying any attention, or acting on the speaker’s advice:
- Every time I talk to Catherine about emigrating, I feel as if I’m wasting my breath.