Molly grottles

Posted by RRC on April 03, 2008 at 21:30:

In Reply to: Molly grottles posted by Brad Watkins on April 03, 2008 at 20:23:

: As to the phrase "molly grottles". Relating to sickness or illness, my mother used to ask, "do you have the molly grottles?" My spelling is approximately as it sounds. She is of German decent, but did not speak German.

To mollycoddle is "to treat with an excessive or absurd degree of indulgence and attention" (m-w.com). Mothers tend to pamper their sick children, an illness that required such mollycoddling might be humorously called "the mollycoddles".

• Molly grottles ESC 03/April/08