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DOLDRUMS (a slang term, dol = dull; cf. tantrum)
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DOLDRUMS (a slang term, dol = dull; cf. tantrum), the region of calms near the equator where the trade-winds die away, a region of constant precipitation in which the weather is close, hot, vaporous and extremely dispiriting. In the old days of sailing vessels; a becalmed ship sometimes lay helpless for weeks. A letter from this region saying " we are in the doldrums (" in the dumps ") seems to have been regarded as written from " The Doldrums," which thus became the name of this undesirable locality.