Dracula sneeze

Meaning

Noun

• The act of sneezing into the crook of one's elbow so as to help prevent the spread of germs.

Origin

• 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).