Good morning!
Nobody likes to be sick, right? It's so awful to have to stay in bed all day instead of beling alive and kicking and spend time doing things we like.
As you may have noticed I've used dome of the medical and health idioms to bring about the topic. Below I want to present you some others. Read carefully and try to memorize them, because then I want you to do an exercise quiz! Hey! Don't get as pale as death! These are easy questions ;)
alive and kicking
- to be well and healthy
My aunt is
ninety years old and she is very much alive
and kicking.
as fit as a fiddle
- to be healthy and physically fit
My
grandfather is ninety years old but he is as
fit as a fiddle.
as pale as death
- extremely pale
The woman
in the hospital waiting room was as pale
as death.
at death's door
- very near death
The sales
manager was at death's door after his
heart attack.
back on one's feet
- physically healthy again
My mother
is back on her feet after being sick
for two weeks.
bitter pill to swallow
- an unpleasant fact that one must accept
Losing the
election was a bitter pill to swallow
for the candidate.
black-and-blue
- bruised, showing signs of having been
physically harmed
My arm was black-and-blue after falling down the
stairs.
black out
- to lose consciousness, to faint, to pass out
The
football player blacked out after
being hit by the other player.
break out in a cold sweat
- to perspire from fever or anxiety
I usually break out in a cold sweat when I have to
make a speech.
break out in (something)
- to begin showing a rash or other skin
disorder
I broke out in a rash after eating the
shrimp at the restaurant.
breathe one's last
- to die
The man breathed his last after a long illness.
bring (someone) around
- to restore someone to health or
consciousness, to cure someone
The medical
workers were able to bring the man around
after the accident.
bring (someone) to
- to restore someone to consciousness after
anesthesia/hypnosis/fainting
We tried
hard to bring the woman to after the
car accident.
bundle of nerves
- a very nervous or anxious person
The woman
is a bundle of nerves after looking
after her three children.
burn (oneself) out
- to become very tired and almost sick from
doing something for a long time or from working too hard
After
working long hours for many months the woman finally burned herself out.
catch a cold
- to get a cold
I caught a cold last week and had to miss
four days of work.
catch one's death of cold
- to become very ill (with a cold/flu etc.)
The little
boy was told to be careful in the rain or he would catch his death of cold.
check-up
- an examination of a patient by a doctor
I plan to
have my annual check-up next week.
clean bill of health
- a report or certificate that a person or
animal is healthy
My doctor
gave me a clean bill of health when I
visited him last month.
come down with (something)
- to become sick with something, to catch an
illness
My niece came down with a cold and was unable to
visit me last week.
couch doctor
- a psychoanalyst or psychiatrist who puts his
patients on a couch to talk to them
The man was
sent to see a couch doctor because of
his many problems.
a dose of one's own medicine
- the same treatment that one gives to others
(usually this has a negative meaning)
We gave the
boy a dose of his own medicine after
he bullied us.
draw blood
- to make someone bleed, to get blood from
someone
The doctor
decided to draw blood from the
patient in order to check his blood sugar level.
drop dead
- to die suddenly
The bus driver dropped dead while driving the bus.
fall ill
- to become sick or ill
The man fell ill last winter and has not
recovered yet.
feel on top of the world
- to feel very healthy
I have been
feeling on top of the world since I
quit my job.
flare up
- to begin again suddenly (an illness or a
disease)
My mother's
skin problem flared up when she
started to use the new hand soap.
get a charley horse
- to develop a cramp in the arm or the leg
The swimmer
got a charley horse while he was
swimming.
get over (something)
- to overcome a difficulty, to recover from an
illness or shock
The woman
is having trouble getting over her
father`s death.
go under the knife
- to have an operation in surgery
The woman went under the knife at the hospital
last evening.
green around the gills
- to look sick
My
colleague was looking a little green
around the gills when he came to work today.
hang out one's shingle
- to open an office or business - especially in
a profession
The doctor
decided to hang out his shingle as
soon as he finished medical school.
have foot-in-mouth disease
- to embarrass oneself through a silly mistake
The man has foot-in-mouth disease and is always
saying stupid things.
have one foot in the grave
- to be near death (usually because of old age
or illness)
My uncle is
very sick and has one foot in the grave.
head shrinker
- a psychiatrist
The man
went to see a head shrinker after his
recent problems at work.
in a family way
- pregnant, going to have a baby
Our new
secretary is in a family way and
plans to stop working soon.
in labor
- a woman going through childbirth
The woman
was in labor for three hours.
in the pink
- in very good health
My
grandmother is in the pink and is
doing very well.
kick a habit
- to break or stop a bad habit
The man
used to smoke but he was able to kick the
habit.
kink in one's neck
- a cramp in one's neck that causes pain
I woke up
this morning with a kink in my neck.
look the picture of health
- to be in good health, to look very healthy
My uncle looked the picture of health when I saw
him last week.
nothing but skin and bones
- to be very thin or emaciated
The young
man was nothing but skin and bones
when he returned from the long camping trip.
nurse (someone) back to health
- to give someone care to restore him or her to
good health
My mother
spent several weeks with my grandmother trying to nurse her back to health.
on the mend
- becoming better, becoming well, healing
My
grandfather is on the mend after he
broke his leg last week.
an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
- it is easier to prevent something bad than to
deal with the results
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and I decided to stay home and rest
rather than go out in the cold with my sore throat.
out cold
- unconscious, to have fainted
The patient
was out cold because of the
anesthesia when he entered the operating room.
out of sorts
- not feeling well, in a bad mood
Our boss is
out of sorts today so you should wait
until tomorrow to speak to him.
over the worst
- recovering from an illness
The man is over the worst since his skiing accident
last month.
pale around the gills
- to look sick
My
colleague was looking a little pale
around the gills when he came to work today.
pass away
- to die
The man's
father passed away when he was 96
years old.
pass on
- to die
My
grandmother passed on when she was 92
years old.
pass out
- to faint
Three
teenage girls passed out at the rock
concert.
pull through
- to recover from a serious illness
The car
accident was very bad and I do not think that the driver will pull through.
rub salt in (someone's) wound
- to deliberately make someone's unhappiness or
shame or misfortune worse
My
supervisor rubbed salt in my wound
when he continued to criticize me for my mistake.
run down
- to be in poor condition
My father
worked very hard last month and now he is run
down.
run in the family
- to be a common family characteristic
The serious
illness runs in the family of my
friend.
spit up (something) or spit (something) up
- to throw something up, to vomit something
The dog spit up the button that he had
swallowed.
splitting headache
- a severe headache
I have been
suffering from a splitting headache
all morning.
susceptable to (something)
- to easily get some kind of illness, to likely
to become sick with something
The young
boy is very susceptable to getting a
sore throat.
take a sick day
- to be absent from work and still receive pay
I did not
feel well yesterday so I decided to take a sick
day.
take a turn for the better
- to begin to improve or get well
The medical
condition of my uncle has recently taken
a turn for the better.
take a turn for the worse
- to become sicker
My aunt took a turn for the worse last week and
she is now in the hospital.
take sick
- to become ill
The little
boy took sick early last night.
a taste of one's own medicine
- the same treatment that one gives to others
(usually this has a negative meaning)
Our boss
got a taste of his own medicine when
people began to treat him badly like he treats others.
throw up
- to vomit
The woman threw up after eating the bad shellfish.
under the weather
- not feeling well
My boss has
been under the weather all week and
has not come to work during that time.
up and about
- healthy and moving around, not sick in bed
My uncle
has been up and about for a couple of
days since he left the hospital.
