disease

Related to disease: heart disease, communicable disease
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a cure worse than the disease

1. Literally, any drug, surgery, procedure, etc., used to cure or mitigate a disease or ailment that ultimately leads to worse symptoms than the original condition caused or might have caused. While the drug has proven to be effective in combating the disease, it has also been shown to ravage the body in other, more devastating ways. It seems at this point like a cure worse than the disease.
2. By extension, a solution to a problem or crisis that leads to worse conditions overall than the original problem did or would have. The board of directors' plan to deal with the economic downturn is to reduce the entire company to a skeleton crew. I know drastic action needs to be taken, but we want to make sure this isn't a cure worse than the disease! I know you want to stimulate the financial sector, but repealing federal regulations would be a cure worse than the disease.
See also: cure, disease, worse

a treatment worse than the disease

1. Literally, any drug, surgery, procedure, etc., used to cure or mitigate a disease or ailment that ultimately leads to worse symptoms than the original condition caused or might have caused. While the drug has proven to be effective in combating the disease, it has also been shown to ravage the body in other, more devastating ways. It seems at this point like a treatment worse than the disease.
2. By extension, a solution to a problem or crisis that leads to worse conditions overall than the original problem did or would have. The board of directors' plan to deal with the economic downturn is to reduce the entire company to a skeleton crew. I know drastic action needs to be taken, but we want to make sure this isn't a treatment worse than the disease! I know you want to stimulate the financial sector, but repealing federal regulations would be a treatment worse than the disease.
See also: disease, treatment, worse

Christmas disease

Hemophilia (or haemophilia) B, a blood-clotting disorder in which a mutation of the Factor IX gene leads to a deficiency of Factor IX (or Christmas factor), a serine protease of the coagulation system. Both the factor and the disease are named for Stephen Christmas (not the holiday), the first patient discovered to have the condition in 1952. We haven't let our daughter participate in any more physical sports since she was diagnosed with Christmas disease last year.
See also: Christmas, disease

desperate diseases must have desperate remedies

proverb Extreme and undesirable circumstances or situations can only be resolved by resorting to equally extreme actions. I know that the austerity measures introduced by the government during the recession are unpopular, but desperate diseases must have desperate remedies.
See also: desperate, disease, have, must, remedy

diseases of the soul are more dangerous than those of the body

proverb Mental and emotional pain is more painful and more difficult to treat than a physical ailment. The quote is attributed to Marcus Tullius Cicero, a Roman statesman and philosopher. Therapists and psychiatrists are vitally important to our society. Diseases of the soul are more dangerous than those of the body, after all.
See also: body, dangerous, disease, more, of, soul, those

down with (an illness)

Sick with a particular illness, which is named after "with." I've been down with the flu all week and have barely gotten out of bed.
See also: down

foot-in-mouth disease

A habit of unintentionally saying foolish, tactless, or offensive things. He has foot-in-mouth disease, especially when he's forced to speak for too long, so try to get him off stage as soon as possible. Oh man, do I have foot-in-mouth-disease—I just congratulated Sarah's sister on being pregnant. She isn't.
See also: disease

shake off

1. To rid or free oneself from someone or something that one finds aggravating, upsetting, or annoying. A noun or pronoun can be used between "shake" and "off." My little brother has been following me around all day. I need to shake him off. He had a hard time shaking off the feeling that someone was spying on him.
2. To shake something in order to get something off of it. A noun or pronoun can be used between "shake" and "off." I had to shake off the old tarp to get the bugs and dirt off of it. Shake the blanket off before you lay it out.
3. To dislodge or get rid of something by shaking. A noun or pronoun can be used between "shake" and "off." He tried to shake the tick off, but it had dug itself into his skin. Don't shake the mud off inside—go out in the back yard and do it!
4. To recover from or fend off a disease or illness, especially a minor one. A noun or pronoun can be used between "shake" and "off." I've got to shake this tummy bug off—I can't afford to be sick before our big meeting! I've had this cold for nearly a week that I just can't seem to shake off! I could feel myself getting sick, but I managed to shake it off.
See also: off, shake

the British disease

That which supposedly plagues British people, government, or society. Used especially in reference to an inability or unwillingness to be as productive as possible. The real British disease is not complacency or unrest, but the desire to achieve short-term goals at the cost of investing in long-term, sustainable economic policies.
See also: British, disease

the cure is worse than the disease

1. Literally, the drug, surgery, procedure, etc., used to cure or mitigate a disease or ailment ultimately leads to worse symptoms than the original condition caused or might have caused. While the drug has proven to be effective in combating the disease, it has also been shown to ravage the body in other, more devastating ways. It seems at this point that the cure is worse than the disease.
2. By extension, the solution to a problem or crisis leads to worse conditions overall than the original problem did or would have. Often used in negative constructions for rhetorical effect. The board of directors' plan to deal with the economic downturn is to reduce the entire company to a skeleton crew. I know drastic action needs to be taken, but we want to make sure the cure isn't worse than the disease! I know you want to repeal federal regulations to stimulate the financial sector, but that will inevitably lead to gross misconduct throughout the industry. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.
See also: cure, disease, worse

the disease to please

A constant need to make others happy. I think you're miserable because you have the disease to please. Try doing what makes you happy instead.
See also: disease, please

the treatment is worse than the disease

1. Literally, the drug, surgery, procedure, etc., used to cure or mitigate a disease or ailment ultimately leads to worse symptoms than the original condition caused or might have caused. While the drug has proven to be effective in combating the disease, it has also been shown to ravage the body in other, more devastating ways. It seems at this point that the treatment is worse than the disease.
2. By extension, the solution to a problem or crisis leads to worse conditions overall than the original problem did or would have. Often used in negative constructions for rhetorical effect. The board of directors' plan to deal with the economic downturn is to reduce the entire company to a skeleton crew. I know drastic action needs to be taken, but we want to make sure the treatment isn't worse than the disease! I know you want to repeal federal regulations to stimulate the financial sector, but that will inevitably lead to gross misconduct throughout the industry. Sometimes the treatment is worse than the disease.
See also: disease, treatment, worse

white man's disease

1. Any disease or illness most prevalent among, or believed to only be contracted by, Caucasian people. Because I am of Indian descent, my friends and family couldn't believe I'd come down with multiple sclerosis, which they all refer to as a white man's disease.
2. slang The perceived inability of Caucasian men to jump as high as African-American men, especially in relation to basketball. He'd be such a better shooting guard if he didn't have white man's disease.
See also: disease, white
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

Desperate diseases must have desperate remedies.

Prov. If you have a seemingly insurmountable problem, you must do things you ordinarily would not do in order to solve it. Fred: All my employees have been surly and morose for months. How can I improve their morale? Alan: Why not give everyone a raise? Fred: That's a pretty extreme suggestion. Alan: Yes, but desperate diseases must have desperate remedies.
See also: desperate, disease, have, must, remedy

(the) disease to please

an obsessive need to please people. I, like so many, am afflicted with the disease to please. I am just too nice for my own good.
See also: disease, please

*down with a disease

ill; sick at home. (Can be said about many diseases. *Typically: be ~; Come ~; get~.) Tom isn't here. He's down with a cold. Sally is down with the flu.
See also: disease, down

foot-in-mouth disease

the tendency to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. I suffer a lot from foot-in-mouth disease. Well, Ralph has foot-in-mouth disease again.
See also: disease

shake a disease or illness off

Fig. [for the body] to fight off a disease or illness. I thought I was catching a cold, but I guess I shook it off. I hope I can shake off this flu pretty soon.
See also: disease, illness, off, shake

shake someone or something off

Fig. to get rid of someone; to get free of someone who is bothering you. Stop bothering me! What do I have to do to shake you off? I wish I could shake off John. He's such a pest!
See also: off, shake

shake something off

to get rid of something that is on one by shaking. (See also shake a disease or illness off.) I tried to shake the spider off. The dog shook off the blanket Billy had put on him.
See also: off, shake
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

foot in one's mouth, put one's

Say something foolish, embarrassing, or tactless. For example, Jane put her foot in her mouth when she called him by her first husband's name. This notion is sometimes put as having foot-in-mouth disease, as in He has a bad case of foot-in-mouth disease, always making some tactless remark. The first expression dates from about 1900. The variant, dating from the mid-1900s, is a play on the foot-and-mouth (sometimes called hoof-and-mouth) disease that afflicts cattle, causing eruptions to break out around the mouth and hoofs.
See also: foot, put

shake off

Free oneself or get rid of something or someone, as in I've had a hard time shaking off this cold, or She forged ahead, shaking off all the other runners. It is also put as give someone the shake, as in We managed to give our pursuers the shake. The first term dates from the late 1300s; the slangy variant dates from the second half of the 1800s.
See also: off, shake
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

the British disease

a problem or failing supposed to be characteristically British, especially (formerly) a proneness to industrial unrest. informal
See also: British, disease
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

shake off

v.
1. To shake something so as to dislodge what is on it: We shook off the picnic blanket to get rid of the grasshoppers. I picked up the beach towel and shook it off.
2. To get rid of something by shaking: The dog climbed out of the creek and shook off the water. I shook the snow off my jacket and hung it up.
3. To free oneself of something; get rid of something: We shook off our fear and proceeded into the dark cave. The injured player shook the pain off and continued to play.
See also: off, shake
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.

foot-in-mouth disease

n. the tendency to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. Well, Ralph has foot-in-mouth disease again.
See also: disease

white man’s disease

n. the inability to jump in basketball. You break your leg, Walter? Or you got a case of white man’s disease.
See also: disease, white
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

foot-in-mouth disease

The knack of always saying the wrong thing. The expression is both a verbal play on the foot-and-mouth disease that affects livestock and on the expression “to put one’s foot in one’s mouth,” meaning to make a verbal blunder. The latter dates from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century (see also put one’s foot in it). The current cliché is much newer, dating from the mid-twentieth century.
See also: disease
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • a cure worse than the ailment
  • a cure worse than the disease
  • a treatment worse than the disease
  • ailment
  • cure
  • the cure is worse than the ailment
  • the cure is worse than the disease
  • the treatment is worse than the disease
  • treatment
  • magic bullet
References in periodicals archive
Ecologic niche modeling and spatial patterns of disease transmission.
International attention for zoonotic infections
Biologists have known that animals can catch the disease simply by occupying an area where sick animals once lived.
Wasting deer: deer saliva and blood can carry prions
These studies include prospective investigations in chronic kidney disease, dialysis access, polycystic kidney disease, focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis, and acute kidney injury.
Pilot and feasibility clinical research grants in kidney or urologic diseases (R21)
Since many pesticides act like hormones, they also appear to play a role in autoimmune disease. For example, Dr.
Auto exposure: do immune system diseases have an environmental cause?
One associates the disease with a specific infectious process; the other attributes it to a disturbance of the immune system.
Rosai-Dorfman disease with extranodal manifestation in the head
Although it affects men and women at nearly the same rates (women are slightly more likely to get Alzheimer's disease than men), Alzheimer's disease has particular relevance for women, notes Laurel Coleman, MD, a member of the Alzheimer's Association's board of directors and a practicing geriatrician in Augusta, ME.
Women & Alzheimer's disease
High cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, stress, lack of exercise, family history of heart disease, and obesity are all connected and are high-risk factors contributing to heart disease.
With every beat: heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Do you know if you're at risk?
But at the time, no one had ever heard of mad cow disease. The cow died six weeks later.
Holy cow! What now? Mad cow disease has hit the U.S. How worried should you be?
Using the zebrafish, DanioLabs has created a cost effective, high-throughput, in vivo model of IBD which has been shown to have clinical, pathological and biological relevance to the human disease. This model will be used to correlate compound activity with disease rescue in the zebrafish, and identify and evaluate novel treatments for the disease.
DANIOLABS/OXAGEN COLLABORATE ON INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE
Alzheimer's disease accounts for 70 percent of all cases of dementia.
Tangled memories: Alzheimer's disease: the story so far
Both Mad Cow and Chronic Wasting Disease are kinds of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE).
Who is to blame for mad deer?
Assessment of periodontal disease in the initial stages can be difficult.
Gingival health--periodontal assessment. (Free Course)
Consider further that the FDA has never approved CT for screening any part of the body for any specific disease, let alone for screening the whole body when there are no specific symptoms of disease at all.
Whole-body CT screening--should I or shouldn't I get one?
In developing the Alzheimer's program for the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA), we focused on three critical areas: understanding the disease, skills to manage challenging behaviors, and strategies for helping families and caregivers cope with the emotional challenges of caring for a resident with Alzheimer's disease.
Training staff for Alzheimer's disease. (Assisted Living Review)
QUESTION: Should vegetarians be concerned about mad cow disease?
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