fantods

(chiefly dated) plural of fantod To have “the fantods” is to be in a state of nervousness, distress, or anxiety.

1839, Charles Biggs, Adventures of Harry Franco:

You have got strong symptoms of the fantods; your skin is so tight you can’t shut your eyes without opening your mouth.”

1884, Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:

...I catched a glimpse of fire away through the trees. I went for it, cautious and slow. By and by I was close enough to have a look, and there laid a man on the ground. It most give me the fantods.

1935, The American Magazine, page 66,

1992 July-August, Molly Ivins, Bubba's Billionaire, Mother Jones Magazine, page 8,