student asking question

How come "going to be sick" became a meaning of "going to puke"? For me, it feels like "someone has bad condition."

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Going to be sick" is a polite way of telling someone that you feel as if you are going vomit. It is used because it is a much more polite way of saying "I'm going to puke". The term "sick". The words "puke" and "vomit" are a little gross and so the word sick is used as a more polite and sensitive replacement. Ex: I think I'm going to be sick. Ex: The cat's been sick on the carpet.

Complete the expression with a quiz!