stap my vitals

interjection

An exclamation of surprise or anger, sometimes used as an oath.

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Meanings

interjection

alternative stap me vitals

  1. obsoleteAn exclamation of surprise or anger, sometimes used as an oath.

    Stap my vitals Neal cried, and I knew he was quoting Otway.

    1995, Kenneth Robert, Boon Island
    4 more examples

    You have married a woman beautiful in her person, charming in her airs, prudent in her conduct, constant in her inclinations, and of a nice morality - stap my vitals!

    1845, William Hazlitt, Lectures on the English Comic Writers

    The true Preux des Dames, (regretfully) went out with the full periwig, stap my vitals!

    1854, Tom Taylor, Charles Reade, Masks and Faces

    "Stap my vitals, Bill" (this was to Shakespeare), "there's a great wave coming and you're on the top of it".

    1928, Virginia Woolf, Orlando

    "Stap my vitals, Tuppy, old corpse," I said, concerned, "you're looking pretty blue round the rims."

    1934, PG Wodehouse, Right Ho, Jeeves

Origin

Corruption of stop + my + vitals. Compare stap me.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

stap my vitals. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stap%20my%20vitals

MLA

“stap my vitals.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stap%20my%20vitals. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stap my vitals,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stap%20my%20vitals.

Source: stap my vitals on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.