The Vapours just means faintness with overtones of hysteria. Hysterical woman? Victorian woman? weak and feeble woman? neurasthenic woman?
Two by two, hands of blue. Two by two, hands of blue.
River ,'Ariel'
We're Literary 2: To Read Makes Our Speaking English Good
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Jim - Aug 12, 2004 4:42:58 am PDT #5587 of 10002
Ficht nicht mit Der Raketemensch!
Ginger - Aug 12, 2004 4:55:44 am PDT #5588 of 10002
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
The "vapors" in the 19th century referred to unexplained weakness and sometimes a general malaise. It was usually applied to women and sometimes associated with "womb disease," which could be anything from actual female medical conditions to mental illness. It was sometimes applied to men, but usually with the implication of a female-like weakness.
As the term is used today, it would probably work to say "as if comparing France subliminally to a hysterical woman."
Trudy Booth - Aug 12, 2004 5:37:35 am PDT #5589 of 10002
Greece's financial crisis threatens to take down all of Western civilization - a civilization they themselves founded. A rather tragic irony - which is something they also invented. - Jon Stewart
Megan Walker! There you are!
Matt the Bruins fan - Aug 12, 2004 10:32:27 am PDT #5590 of 10002
"I remember when they eventually introduced that drug kingpin who murdered people and smuggled drugs inside snakes and I was like 'Finally. A normal person.'” —RahvinDragand
I was under the impression "getting the vapors" was simply getting dizzy and faint due to some unpleasantness. I think that Victorian women of the middle and upper classes were more prone to the problem due to overly tight corseting.
Hmmm, it's used differently in the South, where I've always heard it as a more polite euphemism for being flatulent. Though I imagine it would likewise be exacerbated by overly tight corseting.
§ ita § - Aug 12, 2004 10:35:27 am PDT #5591 of 10002
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Though I imagine it would likewise be exacerbated by overly tight corseting.
I have no practical experience, but I expect it would be harder to work up a great...vapour with the corseting on.
Matt the Bruins fan - Aug 12, 2004 10:47:53 am PDT #5592 of 10002
"I remember when they eventually introduced that drug kingpin who murdered people and smuggled drugs inside snakes and I was like 'Finally. A normal person.'” —RahvinDragand
Hmmm, dunno if the extra pressure would help or hinder the process.
I'm glad that this past week I had a chance to skim a few pages from Titus Crow at the bookstore, as I'd previously thought about buying it.
This was before I hit the page that was like Melrose Place with the Cthulhu Cyle Deities cast in the principal roles, mind you. Bleargh.
billytea - Aug 12, 2004 10:49:16 am PDT #5593 of 10002
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.
This was before I hit the page that was like Melrose Place with the Cthulhu Cyle Deities cast in the principal roles, mind you. Bleargh.
Hey, if it was good enough for the Greeks...
Topic!Cindy - Aug 12, 2004 11:54:49 am PDT #5594 of 10002
What is even happening?
Hmmm, it's used differently in the South, where I've always heard it as a more polite euphemism for being flatulent. Though I imagine it would likewise be exacerbated by overly tight corseting.
This is how I've always understood it, too.
billytea - Aug 12, 2004 11:55:38 am PDT #5595 of 10002
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.
This is how I've always understood it, too.
Reading Jane Austen must be a very different experience in the South.
Ginger - Aug 12, 2004 12:09:10 pm PDT #5596 of 10002
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
Hmmm, it's used differently in the South, where I've always heard it as a more polite euphemism for being flatulent.
That's interesting. I've lived in the South for 35 years and my mother's family has lived in Tennessee for several generations, and I've never heard it used as a euphemism for flatulence. It's always been used for someone who "took to her bed," usually for no apparent reason.