creeping crud
n.— «The creeping crud was going around, so some players were sick with flu-like symptoms. Then we lost two non-starters with mono. And we were afraid it was going to spread to the whole team.» —“Two area volleyball teams have sights on 5A title/Clear Lake trying to overcome injuries” by Neal Farmer Houston Chronicle (Texas) Nov. 17, 1988. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The words tough, through, and dough all end in O-U-G-H. So why don’t they rhyme? A lively new book addresses the many quirks of English by explaining the history of words and phrases. And: have you ever been in a situation where a group makes...
When there’s no evening meal planned at home, what do you call that scramble to cobble together your own dinner? Some people apply acronyms like YOYO — “you’re on your own” — or CORN, for “Clean Out your Refrigerator...