[General] without missing a beat

[roseriver1012]

Without missing a beat, his big brown eyes looking me straight in the face, he exclaimed, "We're more than friends. You're my dad!"

What does the expression "without missing a beat" mean? The beat of what? Thanks!

 

[probus]

It means without the slightest pause or hesitation.

It has become a standard idiom, even perhaps a cliché, but its origin probably lies in music, in which an inexpert player may spoil the rhythm and thus the piece by hesitating, i.e. missing a beat.

 

[SoothingDave]

Imagine you are playing the drums, leading a band. Someone comes in and tells you your house is on fire. Do you continue playing without missing a beat?

That's the idea. That events and surprises do not keep you from the rhythm of what you were already doing.