Lurgy

The lurgi (also spelled lurgy) is British English slang for an unspecified contagious disease, generally one considered inconvenient and non-fatal with obvious symptoms, such as influenza or the common cold. It is also often referred to as "The Dreaded Lurgi". Phrases like "I've got the lurgi" are commonly heard when somebody is explaining why they cannot attend a social occasion, come to work, etc.

There is some suggestion that it is a corruption of the word "allergy", or possibly based on the Northern English dialectic phrase "fever-lurgy" meaning lazy or idle, but its likely origin can be found in the 1950s BBC radio programme, The Goon Show.

In a 1954 programme of The Goon Show, "Lurgi Strikes Britain", Ned Seagoon must deal with a national outbreak of a highly dangerous, highly infectious and — as it turns out — highly fictitious disease known as the Dreaded Lurgi. It eventually becomes apparent that the disease is merely a convoluted ruse perpetrated by the arch-criminals Count Moriarty and Hercules Grytpype-Thynne in order to sell large numbers of brass band instruments, the playing of which is claimed to be the only cure. In the show, the symptoms of lurgi manifested as an uncontrollable urge to shout "EEEE-YACKABOO!" without realising, and often serving the purpose of spreading the dreaded lurgi (as in the case of CC and the missing thomo). It was implied that the disease was fatal; Moriarty claims that the British Isles could be wiped out in as little as six weeks.

Alternative spellings include lergy, lurgie, and lergies.

In the context of playground games, lurgi is often used as a phantom contagion or unclean quality, in a manner similar to the North American concept of cooties. For example, "You can't play with us, you've got the lurgi!" could be used when excluding another child from a group.