sickie

English

Etymology

sick +‎ -ie, from sick leave.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪki/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪki

Noun

sickie (plural sickies)

1. (originally Australia, UK, slang) A day, or time, off work due to (supposed) illness. [from 1950s]
   • 2021 July 9, Hannah Jane Parkinson, “The sickie may be a guilty pleasure, but sometimes you just need a duvet day”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Sickies are when one really is sick, but, y’know, probably not to the extent that merits a day off. It’s the exaggerated head cold. It’s the sore throat overdramatised by a theatrical croak.

2. (slang) A person who is unwell.
   • 1984, Victor Bumbalo, Niagara Falls and Other Plays, page 163:

     I'll tell you why, because I'm a sickie! But I'm getting cured.

Alternative forms

• (time off work): sicky

Derived terms

• chuck a sickie
• pull a sickie
• throw a sickie

Translations

a day, or time, off work due to supposed or feigned illness

• Finnish: saikku (fi)
• Maori: hararei whakangehengehe

See also

• duvet day

Further reading

• Jonathon Green (2024) “sickie n.¹”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang

Anagrams

• Ciskei