in a historical context, the plague often refers to the bubonic plague or "black
death", also known as pestilence, which wiped out large portions of the population of
Europe and Asia during the 14th and 15th centuries
in a modern vernacular context, the plague refers to someone being out with illness, most often a chest
cold or flu, usually exaggerating the extent of one's illness while demonstrating their incapacity
Sara can't come in
today, she's out with the plague
Okay then send her my condolences and tell her to get better soon!
The Bubonic plague, otherwise simply called the "plague", killed millions of
people in medieval
Europe