What is “man flu” in British and English-speaking culture?
Couples Answer 14 Fun Relationship Questions
A2 English listening practice · Australian English · Picked for people who know a little
Man flu is the British and broader Anglo joke that men become much bigger babies than their partners or kids whenever they catch a regular cold. The phrase started in British tabloids and stand-up bits in the 1990s and crossed into American sitcoms and British TV ads soon after. Man flu is now in the Collins English Dictionary, has its own Wikipedia page, and has been the subject of half-serious BMJ medical articles asking whether male symptoms really are worse. In couples-quiz formats, Who’s the bigger baby when sick? is the polite version of the question. Most partners answer without much hesitation.
In this clip, an English-speaking couple plays a fourteen-question quiz: “Who’s the bigger baby when sick?”
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How common are the words in this A2 English listening practice video?
How common in written English
How common in spoken English
Harder words in this video
These words are harder than A2. Here is what they mean.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-US 2012 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.
- ▸In British sitcoms and panel shows about marriage (Gavin & Stacey, Outnumbered, Mock the Week)
- ▸In British paracetamol and cold-medicine TV adverts (Lemsip, Beechams)
- ▸In American family sitcoms with sick-husband episodes (Modern Family, Everybody Loves Raymond)
- ▸In British and American newspaper health sections (The Guardian, The Telegraph, The New York Times)
- ▸In British-Irish stand-up routines about marriage and parenting