Lurgy
意味: An unspecified illness, usually a cold or flu.
The 'lurgy' (or 'lurgi') is a wonderfully British word for any vague illness—typically a cold, flu, or stomach bug. It's often used humorously: 'I've got the lurgy' sounds less serious than 'I have influenza.' The word also appears in children's playground games: 'lurgy' or 'cooties' that you catch through touch. Saying you've 'got the lurgy' is a light-hearted way to explain why you're feeling rough.
例文
- Can't come in today—I've got the lurgy. 我感冒了He pillado el virus「風邪をひいちゃった」오늘 못 가—감기 걸렸어.
- Don't come near me, I've got the dreaded lurgy! 别把你的病传给我！¡No me pegues tu virus!「その風邪うつさないでよ！」가까이 오지 마, 무서운 감기에 걸렸거든!
- Half the office has the lurgy. 办公室在流行感冒El virus de la oficina circulando「オフィスで風邪が流行ってる」사무실 절반이 감기에 걸렸어.
発音
/ˈlɜːɡi/
使い方ガイド
場面: illness, work, humour
トーン: humorous, light-hearted
✓ 正しい言い方
- Got the lurgy小病Virus, resfriado風邪、病気감기 걸렸어
- The dreaded lurgy那个小毛病El virus ese例の風邪그 지긋지긋한 감기
- Lurgy going around得了小病He pillado algo風邪ひいた감기가 돌고 있어
✗ 間違った言い方
- Not for serious illness—it's inherently light-hearted幽默用语——不用于严重疾病Humorístico: no para enfermedades gravesユーモア表現なので重い病気には使わない유머러스한 표현이므로 심각한 병에는 쓰지 않는다
よくある間違い
- Spelled 'lurgy' or 'lurgi'—both acceptable
- 'The dreaded lurgy' is the classic phrase from The Goons
起源と歴史
The word was popularised by the 1950s radio comedy 'The Goon Show,' specifically the episode 'Lurgi Strikes Britain' (1954). In the show, the fictional 'lurgi' was a bizarre, invented disease. The word caught on and became a general term for any unspecified illness. Before The Goons, 'lurgy' may have existed in dialectal English.
語源: Popularised by The Goon Show, possibly dialectal origin
初出: Popularised 1954, possibly older in dialects
文化的背景
Era: 1950s onwards
Generation: All ages
Social background: Universal
Pop culture: The Goon Show
Regional notes: British and Australian. Americans might not recognise it.
ストーリーと豆知識
Spike Milligan and The Goons invented 'the dreaded lurgi' for a 1954 episode where the mysterious disease swept through Britain. The word so perfectly captured the feel of minor illness that it passed from comedy into everyday British vocabulary—a rare case of a made-up word becoming genuinely useful.
バリエーション
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