A case of the Mondays

Did you know …

That the expression “I have a case of the Mondays” is nearly 500 years old? It’s true!

It’s worth pointing out, however, that when the its inventors uttered the phrase they weren’t referring to the small tragedy of returning to work after a nice weekend (Elizabethans worked every day!) Rather, they were declaring their having an actual case of the disease commonly referred to as “the Mondays.” A case of the Mondays was typically characterized by painful buboes across the groin and thighs, as well as by swollen and often ruptured eyeballs.

It’s pretty funny when you think about it, because anyone with a real case of the Mondays wouldn’t need to say so. They’d be like, “I have a case of the Mondays. :(“ and everyone around them would be like, “Yeah, your eyeballs look like mashed grapes and your pantaloons are full of pus, we can see that you have the Mondays.”

Ha ha! Things weren’t so different back then after all!

PS—It’s a little ironic that I didn’t post this on a Monday, isn’t it? But science doesn’t work that way. Bonus fact: “the Tuesdays” were liver flukes.