For those who know the older spelling (bated) or are confused with the difference, baited breath makes you think of something evocative; Geoffrey Taylor wrote this poem, Cruel Clever Cat:

Sally, having swallowed cheese,
Directs down holes the scented breeze,
Enticing thus with baited breath
Nice mice to an untimely death.

That is actually not where the term came from. It is far older. I will look and edit here with a link.
Voila
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-bai1.htm

Ah yes, old Waggle Staff...How I hated him at school :(

ScottW. That's why I mentioned "maggots" before. And yes, I have eaten maggots (full of protein). :)