Form: DX-02 · Phrase, explained
Explained by: Keith, fourth floor
Status: Contagious

What does "a case of the Mondays" mean?

To have "a case of the Mondays" is to feel slow, grumpy and fed up because it's the start of the working week. It's a joke that treats Monday as an illness you've caught.

You say it about yourself ("sorry, I've got a case of the Mondays") or, more dangerously, about someone else. I've heard it said about me. I had a paper jam. It was a Tuesday.

Where the phrase comes from

It was made famous by Office Space, the 1999 comedy written and directed by Mike Judge about a software company where everyone is quietly losing their mind. Early on, a cheerful co-worker chirps at the main character, on a bad morning, that somebody's got a case of the Mondays. The joke is how annoying that is to hear. It became a catchphrase, and offices have been saying it ever since, mostly without irony.

The film also has a printer that gets taken out to a field and dealt with. I don't want to talk about it.

Phrases that mean the same thing

Mondayitis: the Australian and New Zealand word for it, Monday plus -itis, as if it were an illness.
The Monday blues: the older, gentler version.
The Sunday scaries: the dread that arrives the evening before.
Blue Monday: a date in January claimed to be "the most depressing day of the year". It started as a 2005 PR campaign for a travel company (Sky Travel), not science.

Questions

What does "a case of the Mondays" mean?

To have "a case of the Mondays" is to feel slow, grumpy and fed up because it's the start of the working week. It's a joke that treats Monday as an illness you've caught.

Where does "case of the Mondays" come from?

The phrase was made famous by the 1999 film Office Space, written and directed by Mike Judge, in which a cheerful co-worker tells the main character, on a bad morning, that somebody's got a case of the Mondays. It's been an office catchphrase ever since.

Is a case of the Mondays the same as Mondayitis?

Yes, near enough. Mondayitis is the Australian and New Zealand word for the same feeling, and "the Monday blues" is another name for it.

Is it rude to say someone has a case of the Mondays?

Usually not between colleagues who know each other, but the joke in the film is that it's annoying to hear first thing on a bad morning. Read the room.

Why the app is called that

Case of the Mondays is an app for people who have it. HR, who narrate it, think it's a wellness programme. It counts the Mondays until you retire, writes joke sick notes for conditions that don't exist, and spins a wheel for anything to do except the thing you're meant to be doing. I print the memos.

The honest tip

If you're about to tell a colleague they've got a case of the Mondays, offer them a coffee instead. It does the same job and nobody has ever been annoyed by it.