Saturday night palsy

English

Etymology

Introduced mistakenly as a simplification of saturnine palsy, a complication of lead poisoning which has a similar presentation.[1]

Folk etymology associates it with carousing and intoxication on Saturday nights, which causes the individual to fall asleep in unnatural positions, such as on a chair or bed with one arm hanging over the edge.

Noun

Saturday night palsy (uncountable)

(medicine, informal) Paralysis due to radial nerve compression in the arm, resulting from direct pressure against a firm object.

Hyponyms

honeymoon palsy

Related terms

night palsy

Translations

radial nerve palsy

References

Spinner RJ, Poliakoff MB, Tiel RL (2002) “The origin of "Saturday night palsy"?”, in Neurosurgery, volume 51, number 3, pages 737–741

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[1] Spinner RJ, Poliakoff MB, Tiel RL (2002) “The origin of "Saturday night palsy"?”, in Neurosurgery, volume 51, number 3, pages 737–741