man flu
- noun
- Offensive
:
gripe de hombre
- When he caught a cold, he claimed it was man flu and acted like he was very ill.
Examples
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My mate Vince has man flu which is something that no men can cope with.
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As I’ve been home sick today—with man flu—
Blog text (31) -
She rolled her eyes as her boyfriend complained about his man flu symptoms.
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After one day of resting with man flu, he felt he needed a week off work.
Synonyms
354
1.0
A common contagious illness that causes fever, aches, and coughs
50
3.3
A contagious illness caused by a virus that gives fever, body aches, and cough
How Sick
Surface Forms
Morphology
A B1 learner who knows 'man' and 'flu' can infer a literal illness related to men (i.e., flu affecting a man), so the core lexical composition is clear. However, the specific, culturally informed humorous sense — that men exaggerate or complain about a mild illness — is pragmatic and not predictable from the parts alone, so it requires prior exposure.
Etymology
Man flu is a joking term that puts man and flu together to create a picture of a man acting as if he has a very bad illness. People use it when a man treats a small cold like something worse, so the phrase means a mild illness that a man 'makes seem worse' or complains about more than usual.