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Assume for a minute you decided to tell your parents about your plans to ditch college and join the circus. The next event you witness should qualify as a conniption fit. A conniption fit is a sudden, violent emotional outburst generally triggered by shocking news or an unexpected turn of events. Unlike a tantrum, which could be triggered with little outside provocation, a conniption fit is often an anticipated response to incredibly bad or disappointing news. A conniption fit is generally characterized by a tirade of strong language accompanied by signs of frustration, rage and/or sadness. Sometimes a person having a conniption fit is reduced to stutters and incomprehensible epithets.

The origins of the term conniption fit are not exactly clear, although many sources place the first known usage around the 1830s. Some theorize the word "conniption" is literally a corruption of the word corruption, which at one time described feelings of anger or sadness. Others believe the word "conniption" was formed as a nonsense word, suggesting a mock Latin origin. There was also an informal English word, canapsha, which had roughly the same meaning as "conniption" at the time. It is even possible that the phrase "conniption fit" arose from the Yiddish language, since Yiddish words like knish are routinely pronounced with both the hard K and N sounds.

Some people use conniption fit interchangeably with other descriptors such as temper tantrum or hissy fit. While each phrase can describe a violent emotional outburst, there are some subtle differences. A temper tantrum can be triggered whenever an emotionally immature person experiences frustration or disappointment. A child who drops an ice cream cone might have a temper tantrum, for example.

A person with a histrionic personality or poor anger management skills might have a hissy fit when faced with disappointment or denial, a response generally seen as immature or inappropriate for the situation. A conniption fit, by comparison, could be triggered whenever an otherwise rational person is confronted with an irrational set of circumstances. Under those conditions, an emotional response may very well be anticipated, although having a conniption fit could be translated as a momentary lapse of reason.