Cooties - Other Terms

Other Terms

Commonly used term in the 21st century is Herpes. The lice of the First World War trenches nicknamed "cooties" were also known as "arithmetic bugs" because "they added to our troubles, subtracted from our pleasures, divided our attention, and multiplied like hell."

For ages 5 onwards, Cooties are known in Denmark as "pigelus" (literally "girl lice"), and "drengelus" ("boy lice") and in Norway as "jentelus" ("girl lice") and "guttelus" ("boy lice"). In Sweden and Finland, it usually refers to girls, where they are known as "tjejbaciller" (literally "girl bacilli") and "tyttöbakteeri" ("girl bacteria").

While there is no direct equivalent to 'cooties' in the United Kingdom, there is a fictional joke disease called 'the lurgi' (or 'lurgy'), often in the phrase 'the dreaded lurgi', used by children and even adults; the term is also used to refer to non-specific common illnesses, such as those with flu-like symptoms. It originates from The Goon Show.