Other forms: swivets
If you're flustered and upset, you're in a swivet. A minor traffic accident might send you into a swivet, especially if you're a nervous driver.
Use the noun swivet when you need an old fashioned way to talk about a minor panic. Arriving late at the airport for an overseas flight or being lost in an unfamiliar city throws most of us into a swivet. You're most likely to come across this word in old books, since it's not used much these days. It was first coined from United States dialect in the 1890's, but not much else is known about its origin.