Cable Forum - Lurgy?

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does anybody know the origins, if any, of 'lurgy'

eg - "he's got the lurgy"

referring to some unspecified ailment etc

From Cassells Dictionary of Slang:

Quote:

lurgi/lurgy n. [1950s+] any unspecified but deleterious disease or ailment; esp. as the minatory phr. _dreaded lurgi_. [apparently coined by the writers of _The Goon Show_ (1953-60), but the _EED_ cites _lurgy_, idleness, loafing + _lurgy-fever_, the 'disease' of idleness. The _OED_ adds the synon. _fever-lurden_, _fever-lurgan_, ult. SE _fever_ + _lurdan_, 'a general term of opprobrium, reproach, or abuse, implying either dullness and incapacity, or idleness and rascality; a sluggard, vagabond, "loafer"']
: From _Cassell's Dictionary of Slang_ (1998) by Jonathon Green.

So, the phrase was first coined by the goons..

Quote:

Originally Posted by scastle

From Cassells Dictionary of Slang:

So, the phrase was first coined by the goons..

now i didnt know that , i thought it was just playground stuff :) :)

Get your goons at http://goons.fabcat.org/

Quote:

Originally Posted by scastle

From Cassells Dictionary of Slang:

So, the phrase was first coined by the goons..

The full phrase was "the dreaded lurgy".