disease (redirected from Diseases)

*down with a disease

ill; sick at home. (Can be said about many diseases. *Typically: be ~; Come ~; get~.) Tom isn't here. He's down with a cold. Sally is down with the flu.

(the) disease to please

an obsessive need to please people. I, like so many, am afflicted with the disease to please. I am just too nice for my own good.

See also: please

Desperate diseases must have desperate remedies.

Prov. If you have a seemingly insurmountable problem, you must do things you ordinarily would not do in order to solve it. Fred: All my employees have been surly and morose for months. How can I improve their morale? Alan: Why not give everyone a raise? Fred: That's a pretty extreme suggestion. Alan: Yes, but desperate diseases must have desperate remedies.

See also: have, must, remedy

foot-in-mouth disease

the tendency to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. I suffer a lot from foot-in-mouth disease. Well, Ralph has foot-in-mouth disease again.

shake a disease or illness off

Fig. [for the body] to fight off a disease or illness. I thought I was catching a cold, but I guess I shook it off. I hope I can shake off this flu pretty soon.

See also: shake