affected pronunciation of STOP v., in the phrase Stap my vitals, used as an exclamation of surprise, anger, etc., or as an asseveration.
Prob. the first quot. is the source of the phrase. Lord Foppington, the speaker, pronounces a for o throughout. Cf. GAD, EGAD, and the pronunciations ‘Laard,’ ‘plaat’ (for Lord, plot) attributed to Titus Oates.
1696. Vanbrugh, Relapse, I. iii. Well, ’tis Ten Thousand Pawnd well given—stap my Vitals.
1716–20. Lett. Mist’s Jrnl. (1722), I. 50. Thou art one of the most comical Dogs, stap my Vitals! that ever set Pen to Paper.
1730. Fielding, Author’s Farce, III. 34. My Life went out in a Hiss—Stap my Breath. Ibid., 46. And so all my Puns, and Quibbles, and Conundrums are quite forgotten, stap my Vitals.
1839. Thackeray, Catherine, i. Stap my vitals, my dear, but there was a lady … who had a hoop as big as a tent.
1901. Graphic, Christmas No. 24/2. ’Tis a trick of theirs. Stap me, we shall have ’em yet.
