under the weather

Word by word

under · the · weather

Idiomatic sense

To feel a bit ill, or generally off. A cold coming on, a bad night, a body that does not want a party. It is mild, and it is temporary in the way speakers use it. It is not a diagnosis, and it is not a weather report.

It softens the news. I'm under the weather is easier to say, in many rooms, than a list of symptoms.

Examples

1. I'm a bit under the weather, so I'm staying home.

   I'm feeling a bit off, so I'm staying in.

2. She was under the weather after the flight.

   She was unwell after the flight.

Equivalents

Marks say how far the other phrase travels with this one. How to read them.

1. near

   French

   ne pas être dans son assiette

   Not to be in one's plate, that is, to feel not quite right. The same mild, unspecific offness.

2. near

   German

   angeschlagen sein

   To be a bit battered, not at full strength. Same understatement.

3. near

   Spanish

   no estar muy católico

   Not to be feeling very well. Informal, and especially at home in Spain. The same softened report of a body that is off.

4. partial

   Japanese

   調子が悪い

   A plain report that one is not in form. It covers health and, in other contexts, the way a machine or a plan is running. Not a figurative set piece.

5. partial

   French

   avoir le cafard

   Low spirits. Under the weather leans bodily. They meet when a speaker is being vague about which it is.

Notes

A bit and a little are natural with it, because the phrase is already a softening. Without them it still means a mild state, not a collapse.

A nautical origin is often repeated. It is not adopted here.

Sources

• Standard informal idiom. Wording is original.

Mentioned from

• partial avoir le cafard French