wth is "the crud"

[bigred]

Have been fighting a cold/flu lately and someone said "well 'the crud' is going around." Have heard this before, but near as I can tell there is no such thing, ie not a specific sickness named (or nicknamed) "the crud." Is that just some goofy name for cold/flu-like symptoms or is there actually something more specific people are referring to?

[NoZed Avenger]

Sometimes also referred to as "the creeping crud" "the martian death flu" or "that thing that makes me long for death."

[bigred]

Thanks, but apparently that means there are other nicknames associated with.....whatever? :boggled: Sounds like it is all just cold/flu nicknames....

[NoZed Avenger]

It is - as far as I know - merely an informal name for something flu-like with no real attempt at diagnosis attached to it.

[Halfcentaur]

Crud is slang for a vile mucous like substance here in the south and southern Midwest. Crud is often used for the crust that builds up overnight in the eyes, as well as the dense yellow/green phlegm and mucous that clogs the sinuses and bronchial passages. It's also used for debris and substances stuck to a boot or shirt. Dried and flaking or viscous and runny.

A friend's mother calls flus and colds "the crud" in relation to the clogged respitory system and the gunk that is coughed up, and anything to do with gas or diahrea a "sour stomach".

[arthwollipot]

The Dreaded Lurgi!

Eeeeeeee-YAKKABOO!!!

[TragicMonkey]

In my part of the South the constant temperature fluctuations and all the various plant pollens give a large number of people frequent sinus problems--headaches, cough, and an extraordinary amount of mucus. About forty percent of the population can hear sloshing inside their heads when they get out of bed in the morning. So around here people call it "the crud" when such symptoms reach a peak of misery great enough to prevent one from coming into work.

We're actually running into problems with the stupid law about not being allowed to buy too much Sudafed. I'm not making meth with it, I'm trying to keep my head from exploding in a green sticky burst.

[C_Felix]

Cooties.

Did you avoid your cootie shot this year?

[TragicMonkey]

Or, it could be body thetans transmitting your thoughts to Xenu.

[Beerina]

Cooties.

Did you avoid your cootie shot this year?

I went to go get it as usual, but a girl had the needle.

[patchbunny]

It is - as far as I know - merely an informal name for something flu-like with no real attempt at diagnosis attached to it.

^^^This.

Never been a problem for me, though, as I play in a brass band.

[Cuddles]

Is that just some goofy name for cold/flu-like symptoms

Yes.

or is there actually something more specific people are referring to?

No.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=dictionary+crud

[zooterkin]

The Dreaded Lurgi!

Eeeeeeee-YAKKABOO!!!

What you need is leg-lag, you silly, twisted, boy.

[Vorpal]

It could be lupus.

[technoextreme]

Allergies. There mystery solved. At a rate of a hundred dollars an hour you owe me a penny for the one second it took me to figure this out.

[HighRiser]

Careful, techno, you're short-changing yourself. :)

[Ladewig]

It could be lupus.

It's never lupus.

[bigred]

Thx all.

[DevilsAdvocate]

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=crud

crud
"nonsense, rubbish," 1940, U.S. slang; originally 1920s army and college student slang for "venereal disease." Said to be a metathesis variant of curd, which actually makes it an unconscious return to the original M.E. form of that word (see curd). As G.I. name for "disease of any and every sort" it is attested from 1945.

[arthwollipot]

It's never lupus.Except for that one time that it was.

[JoeyDonuts]

I can vouch for the G.I. usage of it.

In USN boot camp, it was pretty much a given that a some point you were going to contract the 'ricky crud.'

[Just thinking]

Not the Crud ... but here's what a Cootie looks like:

http://www.chadmaxwell.com/work/series/toys/cootie.jpg

[Just thinking]

And here's someone with a bad case of the Crud:

http://sites.younglife.org/sites/uppsala/Home%20Page/After%20the%20Crud%20War.jpg

[ApolloGnomon]

I can vouch for the G.I. usage of it.

In USN boot camp, it was pretty much a given that a some point you were going to contract the 'ricky crud.'

Military trainees and other short-term rotating populations get what's called "camp crud." From my own experiences, it seems to be a mixture of several different viral and bacterial infestations brought in by successive waves of recruits/Boy Scouts/etc. The "crud" population transfers itself from cohort to cohort via contaminated surfaces (fomites (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fomite)) such as doorknobs, faucet handles, drinking fountains, or canteens. The Crud population as a whole evolves to alarmingly hardy levels, and can be revitalized with new strains brought in by each new group.

[arthwollipot]

Not the Crud ... but here's what a Cootie looks like:

http://www.chadmaxwell.com/work/series/toys/cootie.jpgI LOVED that game!

[Emet]

I LOVED that game!

You can enjoy it once again:

Cootie game at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-04782-Cootie/dp/B00000IWDO).

Just be careful:
WARNING:
CHOKING HAZARD -- Small parts. Not for children under 3 yrs.



I still have this (http://www.shop.com/Tickle_Bee_Magnet_Game-38798520-51447997-p+.xhtml?sourceid=298)--don't know why, but I never got rid of it. :)

[godless dave]

In my part of the South the constant temperature fluctuations and all the various plant pollens give a large number of people frequent sinus problems--headaches, cough, and an extraordinary amount of mucus. About forty percent of the population can hear sloshing inside their heads when they get out of bed in the morning. So around here people call it "the crud" when such symptoms reach a peak of misery great enough to prevent one from coming into work.

We're actually running into problems with the stupid law about not being allowed to buy too much Sudafed. I'm not making meth with it, I'm trying to keep my head from exploding in a green sticky burst.

Same problem up here. Apparently, the law does not allow you to buy a 10-day supply of Sudafed every ten days, which sucks because my doctor and ENT both suggested that I take it every day.

[arthwollipot]

You can enjoy it once again:

Cootie game at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-04782-Cootie/dp/B00000IWDO).Hmm. That's actually not the same game. My game was called "Bugs!" or something like that, and it had essentially the same parts - even down to the spiral 'tongue' - that you put together by rolling dice or something. I suspect it actually is the same game, but I certainly didn't have that packaging and it wasn't called the same thing.

[zooterkin]

Hmm. That's actually not the same game. My game was called "Bugs!" or something like that, and it had essentially the same parts - even down to the spiral 'tongue' - that you put together by rolling dice or something. I suspect it actually is the same game, but I certainly didn't have that packaging and it wasn't called the same thing.

The first picture is from the game I know as "Beetle (http://www.appletreegifts.co.uk/beetle-game-1390-p.asp)!" that my Grandma had; the second looks like the same idea (it's an old game that can be played with paper and pencil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetle_(game))) but with a different name and different shaped pieces. There used to be Beetle drives, where people got together to play the game, often as a fund-raiser for something; in fact, I went to one at my mum's church only a year or so ago. Those are usually played with paper and pencil.

[arthwollipot]

The first picture is from the game I know as "Beetle (http://www.appletreegifts.co.uk/beetle-game-1390-p.asp)!" that my Grandma had; the second looks like the same idea (it's an old game that can be played with paper and pencil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetle_%28game%29)) but with a different name and different shaped pieces. There used to be Beetle drives, where people got together to play the game, often as a fund-raiser for something; in fact, I went to one at my mum's church only a year or so ago. Those are usually played with paper and pencil.That's the one! Man, I used to love that game... when I was 6. :p

[EvilPoet]

Before reading this thread I hadn't thought about this term for a long time. My Mom always referred to anything that had cold or flu-like symptoms as the galloping crud.

[TjW]

Before reading this thread I hadn't thought about this term for a long time. My Mom always referred to anything that had cold or flu-like symptoms as the galloping crud.

Except if it has a slow onset: then it's the "creeping crud".

[EvilPoet]

Except if it has a slow onset: then it's the "creeping crud".

I guess my illnesses came on fast cause my Mom never used that term. I'm feeling under the weather today - it might be something developing or it might just be an off day. I will have to keep an eye out for any creeping crud that might be sneaking up on me and make sure it doesn't gallop away with my good health.

[Emet]

Hmm. That's actually not the same game. My game was called "Bugs!" or something like that, and it had essentially the same parts - even down to the spiral 'tongue' - that you put together by rolling dice or something. I suspect it actually is the same game, but I certainly didn't have that packaging and it wasn't called the same thing.

Okie dokie. I never had a Cootie game, but here's the original from 1949:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cootie_(game)

(has photo)