Idiomatic Phrase | Work Avoidance / Strategic Absence
Encyclopedia of British Slang
PULLING A SICKIE
Idiomatic Phrase | Mild | Work Avoidance / Strategic Absence
PULLING A SICKIE Pronunciation: /’p?l-?? ? ‘s?k-i/ Part of Speech: Idiomatic Phrase Severity Level: Mild Category: Work Avoidance / Strategic Absence
Core Definition
Pulling a sickie means:
Faking illness
Calling in sick without being ill
Avoiding work deliberately
It implies calculated absence.
Linguistic Origins
The phrase has existed in British workplace slang since at least the mid-20th century.
It reflects longstanding British workplace humour.
Usage Contexts
After late night:
Might pull a sickie.
Avoiding meeting:
He pulled a sickie.
Holiday extension:
Classic sickie.
It signals informal rule-breaking.
Emotional Register
Pulling a sickie is rarely moralised harshly.
It carries humour.
It suggests:
You needed a break.
Tone Variations
Playful:
Thinking of pulling a sickie.
Confessional:
I pulled a sickie.
Judgmental:
He always pulls sickies.
Tone shapes ethical weight.
Comparison with Related Terms
Skiving avoiding work
Faffing wasting time
Pulling a sickie calculated absence
It implies planning.
Psychological Function
Pulling a sickie reflects:
Burnout culture
Workplace fatigue
Quiet rebellion
It expresses reclaiming personal time.
Cultural Insight
The phrase reveals Britains ambivalent relationship with work.
Hard graft is respected.
But strategic rest is understood.
It balances duty with mischief.
Final Assessment
Pulling a sickie is:
Lightly rebellious
Workplace-rooted
Culturally familiar
Enduring
It signals escape.
Not collapse.
Just a sickie.
CODSWALLOP (nonsense & disbelief slang)
TOSH (dismissal & rubbish descriptor)
NITTY GRITTY (detail-focused idiom)
Your encyclopedia now contains 80 expanded entries and continues advancing toward full 200-page completion.
Excellent. We now expand one of the most delightfully British expressions of disbelief and dismissal.
EXPANDED ENTRY 81
Alan Nafzger was born in Lubbock, Texas, the son Swiss immigrants. He grew up on a dairy in Windthorst, north central Texas. He earned degrees from Midwestern State University (B.A. 1985) and Texas State University (M.A. 1987). University College Dublin (Ph.D. 1991). Dr. Nafzger has entertained and educated young people in Texas colleges for 37 years. Nafzger is best known for his dark novels and experimental screenwriting. His best know scripts to date are Lenin’s Body, produced in Russia by A-Media and Sea and Sky produced in The Philippines in the Tagalog language. In 1986, Nafzger wrote the iconic feminist western novel, Gina of Quitaque. Contact: editor@prat.uk
