A case of the vapors?

[Girl Next Door]

You know that dealie where a lady suddenly swoons, fans herself, and says "Oh, I have a case of the vapors!"? Well, this woman told my mother it meant you had farted.

I always thought it was sort of a catch-all, antiquated phrase that harkened back to tight corsets, too much heat, and perhaps even the "evil humours".

Who's right?

[MsRobyn]

Actually, you're not that far off the mark in either case.

According to Merriam-Webster (http://www.m-w.com), vapors is defined as:

4 plural a archaic : exhalations of bodily organs (as the stomach) held to affect the physical or mental condition b : a depressed or hysterical nervous condition

This, along with fainting couches, gave women the excuse to loosen her corset and relax for a bit.

Robin

[ScoobyTX]

I'm pretty sure it was restricted to those "female" problems. That's what "hysterical" used to mean (same root as "hysterectomy")

That darn womb is the source of many evils :).

[matt_mcl]

The Maestro did a column on this, methinks. His conclusions:

1) There was a "cult of female invalidity" that held it was beautiful and graceful for women to drop like flies.

2) Women at the time loved to create a scene by fainting at the right moment.

3) What with corsets, stays, bleeding, quack medicines, and the like, it's a wonder the women could stay upright at all.

[mouthbreather]

I fully respect Cecils take on 99.9% of all matters, but occasionally you have to take it one step higher to get the truth. That's right, folks. The supreme being, Biz Markie (http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/SongUnid/9B5D1CF1D67F8A664825689A0022FB9F).

[Girl Next Door]

mouthbreather, I couldn't get that link to work. I gather it was song lyrics?

matt mcl, I read the Maestro's column. I was well aware of the whole fainting "oh I'm a delicate flower" thing. I was going for the scatalogical angle here. Did ladies also say that when they'd just cut the cheese?