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Skip a beat?

8 replies
:
Hello!

Can you tell me what is the meaning of this idiom. Can it mean omit or fail to take into consideration?
Thanks
Contributing Member1,266
:
Hello, Antonia!
Could you provide some context, please?
It originally refers to the heart, when you have a sudden emotion (fear, surprise etc...), it skips a beat, it stops beating for a second.
Veteran Member7,461
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Hi Pieanne,

The sisier of the victim is interrogating a suspect. She is also a detective. He is trying to provoke her. Another woman is missing, the suspect's ex girlfriend. He says to her that his girlfriend had tried to kill herself. The detective doesn't wan't to reveal her reaction to that or her true emotions because she is trying to trick him into saying sth that might be a lead or a clue..
(suspect says) ''She tried to kill herself before.''
Lena (the detective) did not skip a beat. ''Yes, I know. Slit her wrists.'' (she is bluffing, she doesn't know that).
:
Hello Antonia,

'skip a beat' means to get suddenly excited, or scared, it's up to you to draw the conclution.Cheers
Full Member186
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Hi Antonia,

All the explanations so far have been correct for "skip a beat". However, I think that in this particular context, it is a reference to music.[8] The detective carried on without pause; she showed no hesitation or surprise.

(Had she shown surprise, she could not have bluffed effectively)
Senior Member2,657
Proficient Speaker: Users in this role are known to maintain an excellent grasp of the English language. You can only be promoted to this role by the Englishforums team.Retired Moderator: A moderator who has retired.
:
I always think of an LP with a scratch, when I hear this phrase.

The needle jumps, and you lose a beat of the music.

MrP
Veteran Member12,806
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:
Thank you all for your descriptive explanations.
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The negative form "Didn't skip a beat" is a musical metaphor. When a music piece is performed without skipping any beat, it is continuous and fluid. The phrase "didn't skip a beat" means "didn't stop", "relentless", "without pausing", "unhesitating", "unrelenting" etc.

The positive form "Skip a beat", however, has to do more with the heart. The phrase "my heart skips a beat" means "I am shocked", "stunned", or "scared".
Junior Member89
:
Thank you, it's very important to me to know the exact meaning, because it bears different connotations.
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