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Pit-a-pat
My heart goes pit-a-pat. Throbs, palpitates. “Pat” is a
gentle blow (Welsh, ffat), and “pit” is a mere ricochet
expletive. We have a vast number of such ricochot words, as
“fiddle-faddle,” “harum-scarum,” “ding-dong,” etc.
Anything like the sound of a rat
Makes my heart go pit-a-pat.
Browning: Pied Piver of Hamelin.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 More on Pit-a-pat from Infoplease:
- Pit-a-pat - Pit-a-pat My heart goes pit-a-pat. Throbs, palpitates. “Pat” is a gentle blow (Welsh, ...
- pitapat: meaning and definitions - pitapat: Definition and Pronunciation
- Olive Tilford Dargan: Path Flower - A red-cap sang in Bishop's wood, A lark o'er Golder's lane, As I the April pathway trod Bound west for Willesden.
- Patter - Patter To chatter, to clack. Dr. Pusey thinks it is derived from Paternoster (the Lord's ...
- Amy Lowell: Nightmare: A Tale for an Autumn Evening - It was a gusty night, With the wind booming, and swooping, Looping round corners, Sliding over the cobble-stones, Whipping and veering, And careering
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