the dreaded lurgy

the dreaded lurgy

A contagious but non-serious illness. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. I've gone and caught the dreaded lurgy again, probably from one of the kids.
See also: dreaded, lurgy
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

the ˌdreaded ˈlurgy

(British English, informal, humorous) an illness that is easy to catch but not serious, for example a cold: Ann’s not coming out tonight — she’s got the dreaded lurgy so she’s at home in bed.
See also: dreaded, lurgy
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • dreaded
  • lurgy
  • catch (something) from (someone)
  • catch from
  • (as) rare as rocking horse crap
  • (as) rare as rocking horse poo
  • (as) rare as rocking horse manure
  • manure
  • What's that got to do with the price of fish?
References in periodicals archive
Barring a disabling accident or a provable attack of the dreaded lurgy the poor woman can't win.
"Don't tell anyone the formula for the dreaded lurgy."
Which just goes to show even celebrities can fall victim to the dreaded lurgy.
If you do succumb to the dreaded lurgy stay at home, drink loads of non-alcoholic fluids, and take regular paracetamol or aspirin to ease those aches and pains.
Have a flu jab Flu jabs should be the number one health priority for everyone over the age of 50, as the dreaded lurgy can cause complications such as pneumonia and dehydration as well as making certain health conditions worse in older people.
MAN flu is not just a myth according to the latest research claiming there's scientific proof that the dreaded lurgy hits fellas harder.
I'M still not over the dreaded lurgy. The chickery cough is the worst of it.
It seems she must have picked it up from her big pal Mikey, who came down with the dreaded lurgy a couple of weeks ago.
This week, I've been struck down with the first serious bout of cold/flu/ the dreaded lurgy for as long as I can remember.
And I found myself down with the dreaded lurgy last week.
Suffering from the dreaded lurgy recently brought a revelation.
After a few days of that I'm hitting the bottle - no, not that kind - a cough bottle, having caught the dreaded lurgy myself.
If you managed to escape the dreaded lurgy so far, then don't be too smug.
WOKE up with the dreaded lurgy. Throat, ears and head away.
A TOUR bus is certainly not the place to be when the dreaded lurgy is in the air, and certainly not when you are a singer.