the lurgie

it is the british equivalent to "cooties"

Cold, flu, allergy. Any sickness that takes you out of the game, your work, or your life.

Approximate British equivalent of the American playground term cooties, meaning a fictitious, yet highly infectious disease. Unlike cooties, now used by adults to refer to an general undefined infectious malady.

Normally used in the form "the dreaded lurgy".

The term originates from an episode of the 1950s radio comedy "The Goon Show" in which an epidemic of "The Dreaded Lurgi" was said to be about to sweep across Britain. It turned out that the lurgi was in fact a ficitious disease created by brass instrument makers who had claimed that no brass band player had ever died of the lurgi (thereby increasing sales hugely).

"The Goon Show" was an anarchic and surreal radio comedy series that starred Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe. It was written by Spike Milligan and Eric Sykes.

an illness that is not serious but passes easily from person to person.

British slang for feeling like shit.

Imaginary Germ believed by primary school children. Usualy used in games like Tag.

I've got the lurgy I caught it from a dinner lady at my school when I was helping lay the chairs out for lunchtime.😭I hate. Having the lurgy