Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A state of nervous irritability.
- n. Nervous movements caused by tension.
- n. An outburst of emotion; a fit.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The fidgets: as, to give one the fantods.
Wiktionary
- n. dated A state of worry or nervous anxiety, irritability.
- n. An irritable outburst.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Slang State of worry or excitement; fidget; fuss; also, indisposition; pet; sulks.
Etymologies
- Origin unknown. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“(link) That story taught me the word fantod, which I think is one of the best (English) words ever.”
“Timothy cannot bear anyone to see him affected in any way, it puts him into a perfect fantod.”
“She could not see the tenacious Forsyte spirit working in that thin, tremulous shape against the extravagance of the emotion called up by this outrage on Forsyte principles -- the Forsyte spirit deep in there, saying: 'You mustn't get into a fantod, it'll never do.”
“It's the dreaded Highgollacum fantod from the forest.”
“A later creation, fantad or fantod, formed perhaps on the base of fantastic, appeared in 1867, some twenty-three years before some disheartened victim of Monday fever got the morbs”
“February 2nd, 2006 at 10: 09 pm mondrian’s neon fantod » It’s About The Wire, People says:”
“September 26th, 2005 at 11: 46 am mondrian’s neon fantod » While We Were Distracted (or, back to politics as usual) says:”
Think Progress » Frist and Torture: What Did He Know and When Did He Know It?
““Ask no questions and you’ll be told no lies; don’t get into a fantod, leave it to me!””
“She could not see the tenacious Forsyte spirit working in that thin, tremulous shape against the extravagance of the emotion called up by this outrage on Forsyte principles — the Forsyte spirit deep in there, saying: ‘You mustn’t get into a fantod, it’ll never do.”
““Not too pointedly,” said Soames; “or she’ll get into a fantod.””
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘fantod’.
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phrontistery - f
from phrontistery.info
fabaceous, fabiform, fabulist, faburden, face-cord, facetiae, facia, facinorous, factious, factitious, factitive, factive and 418 more...
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wallace
Remington, Windsor, prorector, wen, aver, mottle, seltzer, tepee, lapidary, effete, sotto, presbyopia and 343 more...
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doubtlessly reduntant
pedentive, pendentive, fantod, nonpareil, apposite, anfractuous, amanuensis, sherbet, erumpent, verdigris, styptic, tektitic and 24 more...
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Character traits
Falstaffian, drumble, despond, grotesque, élan, anile, feal, smart aleck, phat, blowsy, haver, hoary and 18 more...
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Infinite Jest
starting from i dont know the 4th or 5th chapter called 'year of the depend adult undergarment'
petulant, agoraphobia, portcullis, fantod, coital, phylactery, imprimatur, insipid, precocious, cardioid, fenestration, inception and 9 more...
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bintalshamsa's list
My Favorite Words
weltschmerz, perspicacity, idée fixe, invigilator, salubrious, tchotchke, ex nihilo, invidious, malapropism, naïve, sardonic, elide and 1401 more...
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Infinite Jest
Words taken from Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.
prorector, monograph, post-fourier, snuffle, rototremble, creatus, enfilade, subanimalistic, balletic, espadrilles, leonine, cirri and 1153 more...
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Infinite Jest
Words to remember from DFW's "Infinite Jest"
wen, matriculation, circumflex, lapidary, effete, sotto, hypertrophy, presbyopic, ideogram, pinion, parquet, nelson and 152 more...
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Words of Whimsy & Grace
abecedary, addendum, ampersand, anachronism, avuncular, balderdash, barnacle, befuddle, behemoth, bejeebers, blabbermouth, blatherskite and 465 more...
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lee_d's Words
neologism, epicaricacy, chillax, arrears, locution, ressentiment, facticity, glib, escritoire, epicurian, alacrity, arbitrageur and 150 more...
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amberella's Words
facetious, behoove, akrasia, schadenfreude, halcyon, vapid, wanderlust, bluestocking, drazel, succinct, literati, geason and 116 more...
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looked up
Words I've come across while reading and looked up in the dictionary.
deesis, pendentive, revetment, aedicule, stemma, patera, ephod, entrepot, corbel, exedra, volute, archivolt and 1406 more...
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Papageno's Words, Pt. I
hobbledehoy, absquatulate, chthonic, prolix, ululate, internecine, verisimilitude, animadversion, concupiscence, vertiginous, cucullate, lucubrate and 1554 more...
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kawy's list
subtrist, tricoteuse, undisonant, apricity, apricity, nudiustertian, snaste, chrestomath, chrestomath, velleity, zugzwang, muntin and 106 more...
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hagendas 2009
aptronym, legerdemain, canard, unctuous, pianissimo, paterfamilias, odious, poetaster, mellifluous, fantod, sacristan, debouch and 65 more...
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thelostpleiad's list
descuernacabras, sesquipedalian, cattywhompus, woolgathering, flibbertigibbet, ouroboros, wunderkammer, flabbergasted, hornswoggled, pulchritudinous, mondegreen, acnestis and 26 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for fantod.

chained_bear But trail some breadcrumbs after you so we'll see you again. Oct 14, 2009
bilby See also howling fantods. Oct 14, 2009
knitandpurl "Just thinking about that place now gives me the howling fantods."
The Magicians by Lev Grossman, p 397 Oct 14, 2009
tzipp David Foster Wallace used the word 15 times* in Infinite Jest, often connecting it to the word "howling", as in "the howling fantods".
* based on a word search at Amazon.com
May 15, 2009
yarb Any thing which howls (after Wordnet). May 12, 2008
whichbe 1) a state of irritability and tension
2) an emotional outburst: fit May 12, 2008