|
conniptions "It's the kind of massive amnesty that would send the Daily Express into conniptions."
A conniption is a fit of violent emotion, such as anger or panic. You can have more than one conniption as in the quote above, or you can have a conniption fit.
It first showed up in English around 1833 in USA and was defined in the 1848 Dictionary of American English as "a fainting fit," a common 19th century reaction to stress, especially among the ladies.
The Oxford Dictionary has 'unknown origin' for conniption but it may have been a variation of or a euphemism for 'corruption' in the antiquated sense of 'anger' or 'temper.' This sense is found in Anne Bronte's 1848 Tenant of Wildfell Hall: "I am no angel, and my corruption rises against it." This sense of corruption meant 'the evil side' or weaknesses of human nature.
|
Christine's Hello 
