Lunger, Dear Readers

According to the Curator’s statistics, there are an inordinate number of concerned folk out there on various search engines expressing their curiosity regarding “Why Doc Holliday is called ‘Lunger’ in Tombstone.”

Well, the Curator considers our self to be a veritable encyclopedia of all things video considered. Woe would be us to turn away a young knowledge seeker.

Dear Readers, popular online resources define the term, as spelled, “lunger” in two ways:

1. lunger /ˈlʌndʒər/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[luhn-jer] - someone who moves forward suddenly (as in fencing);

2. lunger /ˈlʌŋər/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[luhng-er] - a person with pulmonary tuberculosis

As the seminal film Tombstone shows us, Doc can be pegged into both definitions. He does indeed move forward suddenly, as demonstrated in various fast draw scenes, usually preceded by uttering, moistly, “I’m your Huckleberry,” and with the quick swallow of varying combinations of liquor and hand rolled cigarette smoke.

Additionally, Doc Holliday had pulmonary tuberculosis, a particularly nasty infectious disease prevalent in such period films. But it is not a disease to be underestimated for its old-timey portrayal. Tuberculosis (TB), or “consumption” as it was commonly known, caused the most widespread concern in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Not until 1946 was a treatment and cure finally available, when an antibiotic known as streptomycin, was developed… But do not yet breathe a sigh a relief. Tuberculosis outbreaks occur to this day, killing millions of people every year, usually in developing countries.

So while “lunger” may seem an affectionate or harmless term, casually thrown out as a mild insult meant to insight Doc into petty fights with inferior bad guys, its actual meaning was far more complex, referring both to his spry agility with handguns, and, contrastingly, to the disease that would ultimately finish him off.

P.S. And for those of you constantly on the lookout for Dirty Dancing's Johnny Castle….