old man's friend

English

Etymology

Coined by Sir William Osler because it kills the elderly without too much suffering.

Proper noun

the old man's friend

1. (informal) Bacterial pneumonia.
   • 1978, International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases, Inauguration Symposium on Current Trends in Immunology and Genetics and Their Implications for Parasitic Diseases:

     The "old man's friend," pneumonia, can, in many instances, be turned from the door, and a wide variety of serious diseases, such as pulmonary tuberculosis, salmonellosis, and cholera, can be treated effectively if the right drugs can be got to the right place at the right time.

   • 1998, Howard M. Fillit, Gloria Picariello, Practical Geriatric Assessment, →ISBN, page 63:

     In many instances, it is likely that the old man's friend, pneumonia, may be preventable if nutritional status could be normalized.

   • 2011, Michael Legat, The Shapiro Diamond, →ISBN:

     Dr Pearson visited him regularly, but on the fifth day, when Sam's condition had worsened, his breathing coming with difficulty and a faint bubbling sound, he shook his head and whispered to Jan, 'The old man's friend.'

   • 2014, Lowell Cauffiel, Forever and Five Days: The Chilling True Story of Love, Betrayal, and Serial Murder in Grand Rapids, Michigan, →ISBN:

     For Marguerite, a drug called Keflex had taken all that was amiable out of the old man's friend. It was her second successful bout with the illness in three years.