Quote
1. Quote - Listen to the quote and guess what the slang means.
“What made this so wonderful was…not having anybody breathing down my neck.”
Sheryl Crowe, talking about recording her new album, Wildflower.
Definition
1. Definition - Study the definition.
being constantly watched, bothered or pressured by somebody
2. Use - Learn how the slang is used.
Oh, it can be frustrating when someone is breathing down your neck. You become flustered and antsy. Your skin crawls and it seems as if the walls are closing in on you. The pressure is on!
When someone is breathing down your neck, they are constantly watching over you or bothering you to do something. In the example above, Sheryl Crowe says that the wonderful thing about recording her latest album was that she didn’t have record producers breathing down her neck, asking about the songs she was going to record, how many songs she would record, when they would be finished, what they would sound like, and so on and so on. She has freedom and elbow room to work at her own pace. People left her alone so she could be creative and record her music.
We all have people breathing down our necks. My parents are breathing down my neck for me to visit them. The electric company is breathing down my neck about my unpaid electric bill. (I’ll pay tomorrow, I promise!) My instructor is breathing down my neck to finish a research paper.
Who’s breathing down your neck, and why?
Examples
1. Examples - Hear some example sentences.
“My boss has been breathing down my neck about getting that project done.”
“She’s been breathing down my neck about fixing her car. I guess I’ll do it this weekend.”