I was out of commission for a few days myself and put up an out-of-office message to let people know.
The subject line was “Under the weather.”
Apparently my inner word nerd is still there even when I’m sick, so my brain immediately wondered – where did the expression “under the weather” come from?
Once I was feeling well enough to be online, I looked it up.
It seems no one knows the exact origin of the phrase, but experts at least agree it came from the nautical world.
One popular theory is that sailors went below decks when they were sea-sick, so being ill = being “under” from the weather.
A variation on that theme is that the expression was originally ““under the weather bow.” Sailors would take shelter on whatever side of the ship was facing the worst of extreme weather.
There is evidence that earliest use of the phrase had nothing to do with physical illness. People were said to be “under the weather” when facing hardships like financial, relationship, or social trouble. Periodicals described struggling cities and faltering civic groups using the same expression.
This is one of those origin stories it seems we’ll never know for sure, but I’ve included a link to the most detailed article I found in the comments should you care to explore further. If nothing else it’s a benign distraction for anyone stuck on the couch recovering from the nastiness that seems to be going around.
Hopefully that doesn’t include you or your loved ones, but, if it does, I’m sending sunny, warm thoughts your way with a wish that you feel better soon.
