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lurgy. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
lurgy, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
lurgy in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
A nonsense word popularized by Spike Milligan and Eric Sykes, scriptwriters for a 9 November 1954 programme of The Goon Show, “Lurgi Strikes Britain”, about the outbreak of a highly dangerous, highly infectious and—as it turns out—highly fictitious disease known as “the Dreaded Lurgi”.
Folk etymologies include:
- a corruption and contraction of allergy. This is not supported by the use of the hard /ɡ/ in lurgi (rhyming with Fergie), as allergy has a soft 'g' /dʒ/.
- based on the Northern English dialectal phrase fever-lurgy (“lazy or idle”).
Pronunciation
Noun
lurgy (plural lurgies)
- (UK, Ireland, slang) A fictitious, highly infectious disease; sometimes as a reference to flu-like symptoms.
- the dreaded lurgy
2011 October 5, Jonathan Freedland, “David Cameron's speech fails to match the gravity of the times”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:He was helped, of course, by his presentational skills, still present here despite a sore throat and what seemed to be a spot of the perennial conference lurgy.
- (UK, Ireland, slang) Any uncategorised disease with symptoms similar to a cold or flu that renders one unable to work.
2019 January 6, Nicola Davis, “Seven ways to dodge a cold – or recover faster”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:Blocked nose, watering eyes, a sore throat – the signs of a cold are all too familiar. Here are seven ways to dodge the lurgy, or shrug it off sooner
Usage notes
- Phrases like "I've got the lurgy" are commonly heard when somebody is explaining why they cannot attend a social occasion, come to work, etc.
- The term is also used in the context of playground games. For example, "You can't play with us; you've got the lurgy!" could be used when excluding another child from a group.
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