The author describes a small group of men to whom flatulence was of especial psychological significance. Though they all showed obsessive features, their characters deviated markedly from the 'anal type' described by Freud. They were arrogant, boastful and fraudulent, possessed a ribald, sarcastic wit and a tendency to use unusually foul language, and used passing flatus for aggressive and exhibitionist purposes. They showed a similarity of childhood developmental patterns. At the phallic level their flatulence represented an inadequate identification with the father. At the anal level, they showed an inadequate enjoyment of, and capacity for, achievement. A disturbed oral development was evidenced by impulsiveness and inadequate super-ego development.