Word.ws English Dictionary

Dracula sneeze

Dracula sneeze noun: a sneeze directed into the crook of one's elbow so as to help prevent the spread of germs.

dracula sneeze: a sneeze directed into the crook of one's elbow so as to help prevent the spread of germs
Image: One Salient Oversight, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

Dracula sneeze (plural Dracula sneezes)

  1. (informal) A sneeze directed into the crook of one's elbow so as to help prevent the spread of germs.
    • Wang also encouraged the use of the "Dracula sneeze," or sneezing into the crease of your elbow as you bring your arm to your face.2009 September 9, Patrick Cowles, “H1N1 plagues campuses”, in The Daily Titan, volume 85, number 4, California State University, Fullerton, page 3
    • Regarding prevention, the school has begun encouraging sick community members to use the “Dracula sneeze,” sneezing into their elbows to avoid getting germs on their hands and then onto doorknobs and plumbing fixtures.2009, Jeremy B. Merrill & Russell M. Page, "Swine Flu Hogs Campus Spotlight", The Claremont Port Side (Claremont Colleges), Volume 7, Issue 1, October 2009, page 7

Forms of Dracula sneeze

pluralDracula sneezes

Origin of Dracula sneeze

From a likening of the positioning of the arm during such a sneeze to stereotypical depictions of the fictional vampire Dracula holding one side of his cape over his face, specifically from Bela Lugosi in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) and Tom Mason (double for Lugosi) in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959).

Questions about Dracula sneeze

What does Dracula sneeze mean?
Dracula sneeze means a sneeze directed into the crook of one's elbow so as to help prevent the spread of germs.
What part of speech is Dracula sneeze?
Dracula sneeze is a noun.
What is the plural of Dracula sneeze?
The plural of Dracula sneeze is Dracula sneezes.

Words near Dracula sneeze in the dictionary

  1. dracoside
  2. dracotaur
  3. dracotaurs
  4. dracs
  5. Dracula
  6. Dracula sneeze
  7. Dracula sneezes
  8. Draculaesque
  9. Draculas
  10. draculin
  11. dracunculi

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Dracula sneeze (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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