3 ms·
Not op, but I wondered if this was a Britishism. My partner recently introduced to me to "lousy with" meaning "abundance"...
by lbotos 4y ago
Not op, but I wondered if this was a Britishism. My partner recently introduced to me to "lousy with" meaning "abundance"...
- mgerdts 4y agoMy mom who is not British and has spent almost no time outside of the Great Plains uses this term. I think the “lous” come from louse, the singular form of lice. A great abundance of not a great thing.
- lbotos 4y agoTIL! But my partner has heard it used in the UK like "I'm lousy with options" as in, I'm overflowing with choice. That was a fun convo as I was like ... What??
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- diputsmonro 4y ago"Lousy" also has a definition of being infested with lice (the singular form of which is louse); according to the Etymology Dictionary this may be the original meaning (https://www.etymonline.com/word/lousy https://www.etymonline.com/word/lousy) From there, it seems to have developed as an American slang to describe "infestations" of other kinds.