In a Facebook post, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong expressed his regret for not being able to meet Apple Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook while he was in Singapore on Apr. 19 as he had caught the flu.

PM Lee said he tested negative for Covid-19 and that he was working from home, but was "otherwise fine".

Cook's recent visit to Singapore coincides with Apple's unveiling of plans for an upcoming expansion in Singapore.

"Glad that Singapore is now a regional hub for Apple, and home to three of their retail stores. I look forward to the completion of the expanded campus," PM Lee wrote.

Curiously, PM Lee used the phrase "cry off" in his Facebook post.

He wrote:

"Was looking forward to meeting Apple CEO Tim Cook today but unfortunately I've caught a flu bug and had to cry off."

What is "cry off"?

The phrase "cry off" is an informal British term that is defined as to "go back on a promise or fail to keep an arrangement," according to Google's dictionary.

In other words, to cancel, withdraw or pull out of an agreement or arrangement.

For example: "I had dinner plans but had to cry off at the last moment."

The Lee family is wont to using British slangs and words with British origins.

PM Lee's wife, Ho Ching, previously used the word "dogsbody".

The Google definition of "dogsbody" is "a person who is given menial tasks to do, especially a junior in an office".

It is a noun and refers to someone responsible for drudge work.

The late Lee Kuan Yew, a product of Cambridge, was famous for using "highfalutin" in parliament as recent as 2009, as well as also once saying, "You play ducks and drakes with me, I play ducks and drakes with you" in 2004.

How curious.

Top photo via Vivian Balakrishnan and Lee Hsien Loong/Facebook