smelling salts

American  

noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. a preparation for smelling, essentially of ammonium carbonate with some agreeable scent, used as a stimulant and restorative.

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smelling salts British  

plural noun

1. a pungent preparation containing crystals of ammonium carbonate that has a stimulant action when sniffed in cases of faintness, headache, etc

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Etymology

Origin of smelling salts

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

ALKALIS: Potash, Soda, and Ammonia, or common Smelling-Salts, with their principal preparations—Pearlash, Soap Lees, Liquor Potassae, Nitre, Sal Prunella, Hartshorn, and Sal—Volatile.—Alkalis are seldom taken or given with the view of destroying life.

From The Book of Household Management by Beeton, Mrs. (Isabella Mary)