Phrase Origins: In the Doldrums

I remember that the first time I had ever heard the phrase "in the doldrums" is when I read the book, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster. I love that book. In Juster's book, it was a place where no thinking and no laughter were allowed. That sounds like a boring and sad place.

I asked about the phrase and was told that the origin comes from an area around the equator where the winds are calm. This is because two belts of wind meet each other just above the equator and cancel each other due to moving in opposite directions.

So, the phrase "in the doldrums," meaning, "in low spirits" or "feeling dull and drowsy" seemed to come from the nautical world. The mystery of that phrase origin would be solved.

Most people think this is the story of the origin of the phrase, "in the doldrums." It makes perfect sense.

However, this is not the case. In fact, it is the area of seas just north of the equator that gets the name "doldrums" from the phrase "in the doldrums." This leaves the question, "How did the phrase 'in the doldrums' originate?"

In the 19^th century, a doldrum was a dullard, or a dull and sluggish fellow. It is thought that this word is derived from "dol," meaning "dull." At some point during the 19^th century, the word "doldrums" quite referring to a person and started meaning being in the state of dullness and / or sadness or a state of being in low spirits.

In 1811, The Morning Herald ran a piece that included the line, "I am now in the doldrums; but when I get better, I will send [for] you."

In 1824, Lord Byron wrote The Island and applied the phrase to the nautical world by writing, "From the bluff head where I watch'd to-day, I saw her in the doldrums; for the wind Was light and baffling."

However, Lord Byron did not use the phrase to refer to an area. Baffling winds are winds that blow in variable and shifting directions. This makes it impossible for a ship to sail because the sails will catch the different winds and the ship will not go in one direction.

Ships that were not able to sail because of baffling winds became known as "in the doldrums." It was a mistake that somebody thought "the doldrums" was a place when told that ships were "in the doldrums."

Sources:

Martin, G. (n.d.). In the doldrums. The meanings and origins of sayings and phrases | List of sayings | English sayings | Idiom definitions | Idiom examples | Idiom origins | List of idioms | Idiom dictionary | Meaning of idioms. Retrieved July 28, 2010, from http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/in-the-doldrums.html

Personal Experience

SparkNotes: The Phantom Tollbooth: Chapters 1-2. (n.d.). SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Retrieved July 28, 2010, from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/tollbooth/section1.html