lurgy

English

Alternative forms

• lurgi, lurgey, lurgee

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɜː(ɹ)ɡi/, (UK) enPR: lû(r)ʹgē
• IPA^(key): /ˈlɝɡi/, (US) enPR: lûrʹge

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

lurgy (plural lurgies)

1. (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^[1], →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.

2. (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^[2], →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 lurgi" 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 lurgi!" could be used when excluding another child from a group.

See also

• cootie

Anagrams

• gurly