Apr 07 2004
Is it “a flu” or “the flu”?
I’m getting THE ONE AND ONLY flu after my wife has had it for almost a week. During lunch I went to a drug store and bought some cough syrup, two boxes of tissue, and a lotto ticket. Walking back to work I passed a group of young women smoking at the back of the office building where I worked, and I thought, If only they didn’t smoke. If only what, Jody?! What?! You’re a 36 year old, shy, in-the-midst-of-a-mid-life-crisis fool. Okay, I admit it: I wouldn’t have done anything 20 years ago either.
I’m going get in trouble if my wife reads this.
I think it’s “the flu” if it kills you.
hahaha, that was great. I’ve got some kind of cold/flue thing too. sniffling all day today… :(
It’s “the flu” because it’s short for “the Influenza virus”. Here’s an excerp from the CDC website to prove it (if it’s printed there then it must be true, right?):
“Influenza (commonly called “the flu”) is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. Infection with influenza viruses can result in illness ranging from mild to severe and life-threatening complications. An estimated 10% to 20% of U.S. residents get the flu each year: an average of 114,000 people are hospitalized for flu-related complications and 36,000 Americans die each year from complications of flu.”