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
A Utah listener recalls a story about her German-speaking mother-in-law referring to a childhood illness as the German disease. In English, the term most commonly referred to syphilis, a disease that different cultures blamed on their neighbors with...
Why is boxing called the sweet science when it’s obviously such a bruising sport? Also, a mother of five is baffled when her Gen Z kids use words she thought she knew. For example, they call sweatshirts sweaters, and declare that’s so aesthetic...