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Sick as a parrot

Well, I’ve been off work all week so far. Not due to any wonderful relaxing break nor DIY escapades or garden indulgences but rather I have been confined to bed with what we in the software business would call a composed illness (yes, I’ll have one from the top shelf, one from the middle and one of these also). Like most humans I’ve had the odd cold, put my back out and such but rarely in my life have I been sent to my room on doctor’s orders. Alas here I am!

Awaking this morning with my chest infection in full swing and a real flu (not just a wimpy little cough) still hanging over me, I came to the conclusion that truly I must be as sick as a parrot. That got me thinking, where did that term of phrase come from? So I investigated and found one possible enlightenment here. It appears as though the phrase started out as sick as a dog and in later times was muddled with many other animals, one of the most recent of which is the poor parrot. However, more interesting is that parrot sickness is attributed to the bird’s mental state rather than physical infection. So I guess while some may still say that I am as sick as a parrot, it has in my mind resorted to being as sick as a horse (read the link above if you are lost). Truly this illness has taken its toll if I’m looking up this stuff…

2 thoughts on “Sick as a parrot”

  1. If I was a nerd, I would say that … to account for your composed illness … you will have to replace you Chest engine by a Crest one… Sorry it is a bad day 🙂

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