How Long Has It Been Since I've Gotten The Wind Knocked Out Of Me?

I dunno. But what a scary feeling that is!

It's fascinating (to me) that getting the wind knocked out of you is related to hiccups. At the bottom of the page, there's a list of people who had the hiccups long-term. One dude, Charles Orborne, apparently hiccuped for 68 years. I have nightmares about that shit.

I wonder if people called him "Hiccuping Chuck."

Also, did they change the spelling to "hiccough" (even though it's always pronounced hick-up) because it somehow seems more classy? How come the Word Detective doesn't have this answer for me?

Ah, but having an emotional wind-knocked-out-of-me moment - that still happens. Ooooofff!