sik nogut

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From sik (“illness”) +‎ nogut (“bad, immoral”).

Noun

A serious illness.
- 2003, anonymous author, Kirap!‎^[1]:
  Long dispela rot ol man i save kisim ol sik nogut olsem sik taifoit, pekpek blut, na sik kolora.
  In this way, people contract such serious diseases as typhoid, dysentery, and cholera.
(colloquial, dated, derogatory, offensive, proscribed) AIDS
- 1997, Zanang Zazoring, Singaut i go long ol Luteran Pasto long mekim gut wok‎^[2]:
  Sampela bilong hevi ol i toktok long en em long sik nogut i save kamap long pasin pamuk olsem AIDS.
  Among the problems they discussed was the sexually transmitted disease: AIDS.
- 2021, Janet Gare, Health Security Hero: Dr Janet Gare‎^[3] (in English):
  Back then people were referring to HIV as binatang nogut and to AIDS as sik nogut, both of which imply that it’s a bad infection or disease, with sik nogut specifically making a moral judgement about those infected.

Usage notes

The term is considered offensive as a term for AIDS because it falsely implies that all people with the disease engaged in behaviors considered by many Papuans to be immoral, such as premarital sexual intercourse and drug use. In reality, many people contract AIDS prenatally or through faulty blood transfusions.