Sneezelimbo

Sneezelimbo (n.) is the state of suspended animation that begins when a sneeze is definitely on its way and ends, some time later, when it is definitely not. It starts with the tickle. The eyes water, the breath goes in, the head tips back, and the whole face prepares for an event. Everyone nearby prepares too. Then nothing happens. You remain there, eyes half closed, mouth slightly open, in a pose normally associated with statues of people receiving bad news.

The sneezelimbo has a strict etiquette. Companions must stop talking and wait. They may not laugh, although they will. They may offer a tissue, which is held out at arm's length like a white flag. Under no circumstances may they say bless you in advance, because an early blessing is widely believed to scare the sneeze away for good, and the person in limbo will hold it against them for the rest of the afternoon.

There are well-known attempts at rescue. Some people look at a bright light. Some rub the side of their nose, or pluck at an eyebrow, or stare at the sky with a sort of desperate hope. Others simply wait, frozen, while the sneeze considers its options. The rescue succeeds perhaps half the time. The other half, the tickle quietly drains away, leaving a person who feels slightly robbed, as if a present had been taken back at the door.

The worst sneezelimbo takes place in public. On a quiet train, in a library or in the middle of a job interview, the half-sneeze pose cannot be disguised. Some sufferers turn it into a thoughtful look at the ceiling. Others pretend they were about to say something, and then have to think of something to say. A sneeze that arrives much later, without warning, while holding a full cup of coffee, is known as a sneezelimbo revenge.

Not every sneeze needs rescuing. A lucky minority of people have a secret weapon: step out of a dark room into sunshine and they sneeze at once, reliably, sometimes two or three times in a row. They are the envy of everyone stuck in limbo, and they tend to be rather smug about it, walking into the sunlight with a handkerchief already in hand.

The real thing behind that last trick has a name: the photic sneeze reflex, in which bright light, especially sudden sunlight, triggers a sneeze. Estimates of how common it is vary widely, but it is often put at somewhere between about one person in five and one in three. It tends to run in families, and it has been given the wonderfully backronymed nickname ACHOO syndrome.

Nobody is entirely sure why it happens. One popular idea is that the nerves involved in seeing bright light and the nerves that sense irritation inside the nose run close together, so a strong signal in one can spill over into the other. That may also be why looking at a light helps some people finish a stuck sneeze. So the next time you find yourself in sneezelimbo, try a window. It will not always work, but at least you will look as if you are admiring the view.