what does the phrase "has the vapors" mean?

Question

i see its associated with someone fainting, or reacting to something - but what exactly does that phrase mean?

Answer 1

it means that vapors are coming out of the person, so its gas

Answer 2

SO many think it means fainting but it is far from the truth, Victorian courts and then later in the South where the Ladies wore the flowing dresses and hooped petticoats, the women were supposed to be on a pedestal and so far above certain bodily functions that the idea that one of them having to break wind would be unheard of. SO when a woman would fein a faint and cry out that she had the "Vapors" all the other women would rush to her sides and use their hand fans to dissipate the gas ball that was just released. The petticoats would also be rustled to ensure the noxious fumes were not trapped underneath.. .

Answer 3

It actually dates back to victorian concepts of medicine and health. The fashions of the day included tight corsets that severely restricted breathing, and in an era with really bad air pollution from coal-burning heaters, women would occasionally develop mild anoxia and would faint. This was often attributed to the pollution (or vapors) in the air, which was only partly to blame.
In the antebellum Soulth it was used as a quaint and archaeic, but polite way for a lady to say she did not feel well, so she could be excused form the company of visitors (Even if she felt okay, )

Answer 4

I think it's a southern phrase meaning having a hot flash and feeling like you're gonna faint. I remember a woman in a old movie saying "Good lord, I got the vapors!"

Answer 5

In the days before the Civil War, Southern women were known to have "the vapors" frequently, and they would become dizzy and faint as a result. Back then, men blamed it on the delicate nature of a woman's constitution and women were almost EXPECTED to faint anytime something unpleasant happened. Chivalrous men were supposed to catch her before she hit the ground, tote her to a carriage and send her home, where a Mammy could bathe her fevered brow with a cold, wet rag until she overcame her malady.

Have you ever looked at the kind of clothing women wore in those days? They wore thick stockings, tight corsets, a bustle, long dresses, tall shoes, gloves and hats. Think about donning all that garb in a Southern summertime. They were walking around in the equivalent of a fire-fighter's turnout gear in 100-degree heat and high humidity, LONG before the advent of air conditioning.

Answer 6

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RE:
what does the phrase "has the vapors" mean?
i see its associated with someone fainting, or reacting to something - but what exactly does that phrase mean?

Answer 7

Fainting is correct. Syncope or swoon.

Think of Miss Pittypat in Gone with the Wind

Answer 8

The "vapors" refer to sexual attraction, skin flushing, heart pounding, warm in the panties and head reeling experienced by women. I think the term was used by Scarlett to Rhett in Gone with the Wind. Something like-" Oh my Rhett, I do declare you give me the vapors". I believe the term was exclusive to the women of the south during the civil war period.

Answer 9

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Yo mamma is derived from the latin ~yo momma~ meaning your mother. It is significant in the fact that those that use the term are likely to have an IQ in the 65-85 quadrant.

Answer 10

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Answer 11

Years ago, that is what the would say if they where feeling faint. I don't know if you have ever felt faint, but you do feel as if your brain is foggy. So the vapors.