went off in faint

[diamondcutter]

People say Michael Jackson was a (wonder). Many times his fans went off in faint when they were listening to his concerts.
A. player
B. singer
C. wonder

Source: A test paper. This is a test for 8th graders in China and their English teacher set the test.

I have no question with the answer. I’d like to know if the use of “went off in faint” is correct, which I didn’t find in dictionaries. I think it’s OK just to say “fainted”. What do you say?

 

[jutfrank]

went off in faint is completely wrong.

You're right that the writer means fainted.

 

[diamondcutter]

Maybe the writer meant to say “fell (down) in a faint”, which I think makes sense. What do you say?

 

[5jj]

The most natural thing to say is simply 'fainted'.

 

[jutfrank]

Maybe the writer meant to say “fell (down) in a faint”, which I think makes sense. What do you say?

Heaven knows what was going on in the writer's head there. The fact is that whoever wrote that sentence has poor English.