English disease

A calque of phrases from various languages, including the French maladie anglaise, Polish angielska choroba, and the German englische Krankheit.

the English disease

1. Football (soccer) hooliganism
2. Depression (especially suicidal)
3. Hypochondria
4. Sweating sickness
5. Gout
6. Rickets
7. Syphilis
8. Bronchitis
9. Tuberculosis
10. Laziness, low motivation
11. Poor industrial relations, and the resulting economic weakness
12. Masochism, especially a fondness for flagellation
13. Gambling
14. Haemophilia
15. Homosexuality

• For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:English disease.

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.