Sunday scaries
/SUN-day SKAIR-eez/plural noun
Meaning
The Sunday scaries are feelings of dread, anxiety, sadness, or loss of free time that arise as Sunday winds down and work, school, or other regular obligations approach. The phrase commonly refers to worry about Monday, unfinished tasks, an unpleasant schedule, or the end of the weekend.[2][3][4]
- 1. Anxiety about returning to work or school after the weekend.
- 2. Sadness or disappointment that free time is ending.
- 3. A recurring Sunday-evening feeling of dread about the demands of the week ahead.
Examples
“The Sunday scaries hit as soon as I opened my work calendar.”
“Trying to enjoy dinner, but the Sunday scaries are already here.”
“I get the Sunday scaries before every exam week.”
“Laundry, meal prep, and a 7 a.m. meeting: peak Sunday scaries.”
“The Sunday scaries disappeared after I stopped checking email at night.”
Origin and spread
Sunday scaries is a modern compound phrase built from Sunday and scaries, a playful plural noun formed from scare with the -ie ending found in words such as willies. Merriam-Webster gives 2013 as the first known use in the current anxiety-and-sadness sense. The Atlantic reported an earlier 2009 online use connected to hangover anxiety, while noting that during the 2010s the phrase shifted toward dread about the coming workweek. The expression spread more broadly through workplace, wellness, and social-media discussions during the 2010s.
How to use it
The phrase is informal and often deliberately cute or humorous, which can make ordinary workweek dread easier to talk about. It can also describe school-related anxiety or the end-of-weekend blues, not only a traditional Monday-through-Friday office schedule. Use the plural form, usually with the: the Sunday scaries. If the feeling is severe or regularly disrupts sleep and daily life, the nickname may be understating a more serious anxiety problem.
Sources
- 1. The Atlantic — The ‘Sunday Scaries’ and the Anxiety of Modern Work
- 2. TIME — How to Cope with the Sunday ScariesSupports: meaning.
- 3. UW Medicine Right as Rain — What Are the Sunday Scaries and How Can You Keep Them Away?Supports: meaning.
- 4. Built In — Sunday Scaries: What Are They and How Can Employers Help?Supports: meaning.
