English disease
English
Etymology
A calque of phrases from various languages, including the French maladie anglaise, Polish angielska choroba, and the German englische Krankheit.
Proper noun
the English disease
- Football (soccer) hooliganism
- Depression (especially suicidal)
- Hypochondria
- Sweating sickness
- Gout
- Rickets
- Syphilis
- Bronchitis
- Tuberculosis
- Laziness, low motivation
- Poor industrial relations, and the resulting economic weakness
- Masochism, especially a fondness for flagellation
- Gambling
- Haemophilia
- Homosexuality
Citations
- For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:English disease.
Usage notes
The meaning of the phrase the English disease, as with other similar terms such as the French disease and the Italian disease, depends heavily on the context and prejudices of the speaker. This is especially the case in the pejorative sense "syphilis", in which the nationality is essentially interchangeable depending on which country the speaker wishes to disparage.