Under the weather

I was conversing with my brother via FaceTime, and since I lead the more exciting life, I was giving him a rundown on my upcoming day, including getting my carpets cleaned. In the process of explaining how that all came about, I used the phrase, under the weather.

Rusty: "What exactly does that mean? Under the weather?"

Me: "It means I was not feeling well."

Rusty: "What does the weather have to do with sickness? It doesn't make sense. I don't like it. I want a detailed essay on the who, what, why, when, and wheres of how that saying came to be on my desk by tomorrow."

I think the kid forgets I write a blog. 

BAM! Blog entry.

Thanks to the Internet, it didn't take long for me to research the idiom of under the weather. My sources included the sites Know Your Phrase and English Stack Exchange as well as the following sources: "Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1997) and "Salty Dog Talk: The Nautical Origins of Everyday Expressions" by Bill Beavis and Richard G. McCloskey (Sheridan House, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., 1995. First published in Great Britain, 1983).

The general consensus is that the term originated in the 1800s back when the mode of transportation was via ships. Seasickness aboard was prevalent due to a combination of choppy waters, lousy food, other passengers, terrible weather, and in my opinion, a captain with a heavy foot. Upchucking overboard, which makes the most sense to me was apparently, a faux pa. So, passengers and sailors were sent below deck to recover, vomit in peace, and take cover from nasty weather.

The term is really under the weather bow, which is the side upon which all the rotten weather is blowing. Somewhere along with the invention of cars, airplanes, and toilets, the bow got knocked off the end.

First to record under the weather in print has been given to two different publications; author Donald Grant Mitchell in his Reveries of a Bachelor and an article in the Jefferson Daily Evening News, published in 1935.

The term means that one is feeling ill, drunk, or recovering from a hangover. Documented use was also when speaking of the malaise of menstruation, which back in my day was accompanied by a wink, wink.

Brother's Response: "You're a nutter butter."