lurgies

Noun

lurgy (countable and uncountable, plural lurgies)

1. (Ireland, archaic, humorous, slang, chiefly England (Cornwall, Northern England)) Idleness or laziness regarded as a medical condition; also, depression, especially resulting from a hangover.
   • Both in the lurgy and the gripes, / These cakes are useful things, / And fit to stop the small windpipes / Of little nasty kings.1804, William Lander, Junr., “An Advertisement”, in Works, Religious, Moral, Political, and Satyrical, Penzance, Cornwall: […] Thomas Vigurs, →OCLC, page 36

   Synonyms:

   fever lurden, fever-lurgy, lurgy-fever

2. (Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, UK, broadly, humorous) A non-specific (often infectious) disease, especially one with symptoms similar to those of a cold or flu, which renders one unfit to attend social events, go to work, etc.
   • the dreaded lurgy

See all 3 meanings of lurgy