(slang, UK, Australia, New Zealand) To skip work or school or avoid an obligation by pretending to be sick.
The only solution I can think of is to 'pull a sickie', which I hate the thought of.
And if you're not getting on with them and you can't solve the problem it's sometimes easier just to pull a sickie.
(slang, UK, Australia, New Zealand) To skip work or school or avoid an obligation by pretending to be sick.
"pull a sickie" means to skip work or school or avoid an obligation by pretending to be sick. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
"pull a sickie" means to skip work or school or avoid an obligation by pretending to be sick. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
See all British & Irish slang slang on Slangora.
Browse all slang words starting with P.
(slang, UK, Australia, New Zealand) To take a day off from work for ill health (either real or feigned).
To take a day off from work feigning ill health.
A day, or time, off work due to (supposed) illness.
A day off taken under false pretenses of illness. "Chuck a sickie" = call in sick when not actually sick.
ByKevin Peachey Personal finance reporter **UK workers are three times more likely to go into work when ill than pull a sickie, a survey has suggested.** Some 69% of those asked said they had worked when unwell, the r…
"pull a sickie" is informal English meaning to skip work or school or avoid an obligation by pretending to be sick. It is mainly heard in British English (and Irish English). A more formal or neutral equivalent would be something like "to skip work or school or avoid an obligation by pretending to be sick" expressed in standard vocabulary. A common mistake is to assume "pull a sickie" can replace its standard equivalent in every register; keep it for spoken or casual situations and use the formal form in writing.
“The only solution I can think of is to 'pull a sickie', which I hate the thought of.”
“And if you're not getting on with them and you can't solve the problem it's sometimes easier just to pull a sickie.”
“ByKevin Peachey Personal finance reporter **UK workers are three times more likely to go into work when ill than pull a sickie, a survey has suggested.** Some 69% of those asked said they had worked when unwell, the report by Aviva UK Health claimed, with many fearing a mountain of work when they returned.”
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Call in sick to work without actually being sick. The act associated with the noun "sickie."