English Idioms & Idiomatic Expressions

Health - Fitness
(Idioms, page 1 : in bad shape → my dogs are barking)

in bad shape A person who is in bad shape is in poor physical

condition.
I really am in bad shape. I must do more exercise.

back on your feet If you are back on your feet, after an illness or an
accident, you are physically healthy again.
My grandmother had a bad 'flu but she's back on her feet
again.

back into shape To get yourself back into shape, you need to take
some exercise in order to become fit and healthy
again.
Eva decided she'd have to get back into shape before
looking for a job.

bag of bones To say that someone is a bag of bones means that

they are extremely thin.
When he came home from the war he was a bag of bones.

full of beans A person who is full of beans is lively, active and

healthy.
He may be getting old but he's still full of beans.

black out If you black out, you lose consciousness.

When Tony saw the needle, he blacked out.

blind as a bat Someone whose vision is very poor, or who is unable

to see anything, is (as) blind as a bat.
Without his glasses, the old man is as blind as a bat.

blue around the If a person looks blue around gills, they look unwell or
gills sick.
(also: green or pale) You should sit down. You look a bit blue around the gills.

feel blue To feel blue means to have feelings of deep sadness

or depression.
 I'm going to see my grandmother. She's feeling a bit blue
at the moment.

kick the bucket To kick the bucket is a lighthearted way of talking

about death.
He will inherit when his grandfather kicks the bucket.

cast iron stomach If you can eat all sorts of food and drink what you like,
without any indigestion, discomfort or bad effects, it is
said that you have acast-iron stomach.
I don't know how you can eat that spicy food. You must
have a cast-iron stomach.

clean bill of health If a person has a clean bill of health, they have a
report or certificate declaring that their health is
satisfactory.
All candidates for the position must produce a clean bill of
health.

off colour If you are off colour, you look or feel ill.
What's the matter with Tom? He looks a bit off colour
today.

dead as a doornail This expression is used to stress that a person is very

definitely dead.
At the end of the winter they found the old man as dead
as a doornail.

(like) death warmed If you look like death warmed up, you look very ill or
up tired.
My boss told me to go home. He said I looked like death
warmed up.

die with one's A person who dies with their boots on dies while still
boots on leading an active life.
He says he'll never retire. He'd rather die with his boots
on!

dogs are barking When a person says that their dogs are barking they
mean that their feet are hurting.
I've been shopping all day. My dogs are barking!
drop like flies If people drop like flies, they fall ill or die in
large numbers.
There's a 'flu epidemic right now. Senior citizens are
dropping like flies.

hit the dust The expression hit the dust is a humorous way of
referring to death.
You can have my computer when I hit the dust!

fit as a fiddle A person who is as fit as a fiddle is in an excellent

state of health or physical condition.
My grandfather is nearly ninety but he's as fit as a
fiddle.

frog in one's throat A person who has a frog in their throat has difficulty in
speaking clearly because they have a cough or a
sore throat.
Teaching was difficult today. I had a frog in my throat
all morning.

hair of the dog that Using as a remedy a small amount of what made you
bit you ill, for example a drop of alcohol when recovering
from drinking too much, is called 'a hair of the dog
that bit you'.
Here, have a drop of this. It's a hair of the dog that
bit you!

hale and hearty Someone, especially an old person, who is hale and
hearty is in excellent health.
My grandmother is still hale and hearty in spite of her
age.

have a hangover To have a hangover means to suffer from the

unpleasant after-effects of drinking too much alcohol.
Many young people have a hangover after a party or
celebration.

hard of hearing If someone is hard of hearing, they can't hear very

well.
You'll have to speak louder to Mr. Jones. He's a bit
hard of hearing.

keep body and soul If someone is able to keep body and soul together,
together they manage to survive.
He was unemployed and homeless, but somehow he
managed to keep body and soul together.

land of the living This is a humorous way of saying that someone is

still alive.
Hi there! Glad to see you're still in the land of the
living!

on one's last legs If you are on your last legs, you are in a very weak
condition or about to die.
I was so sick that I felt as though I was on my last
legs!

living on borrowed This expression refers to a period of time after an

time illness or accident which could have caused death.
After heart surgery, many patients feel that they're
living on borrowed time.

look the picture of To look the picture of health means to look extremely
health healthy.
Nice to see you again Mr. Brown. I must say you look
the picture of health.

meet your maker This expression is used to say (often humorously)

that someone has died.
Poor old Mr. Potter has gone to meet his maker.

on the mend If someone or something is on the mend, they are

improving after an illness or a difficult period.
My mother caught the 'flu but she's on the mend now.

new lease of life A person who has a new lease of life has a chance to
live longer or with greater enjoyment or satisfaction.
Moving closer to his children has given him a new
lease of life.

go under the knife If a person goes under the knife, they have surgery.
I'm not worried about the anaesthetic. I've been
under the knife several times.

one foot in the A person who is either very old or very ill and close to
grave death has one foot in the grave.
 It's no use talking to the owner. The poor man has
one foot in the grave.

one's number is up To say that one's number is up means that either a

person is in serious difficulty or the time has come
when they will die.
His health is declining rapidly so it looks as if his
number is up!

out of sorts If someone is out of sorts, they are upset and irritable
or not feeling well.
The baby is out of sorts today. Perhaps he's cutting
a tooth.

have pins and To have pins and needles is to have a tingling

needles sensation in a part of the body, for example an arm or
a leg, when it has been in the same position for a
long time.
I lay curled up for so long that I had pins and needles
in my legs.

in the pink of If you are in the pink of health, you are in excellent
health physical condition.
Caroline looks in the pink of health after her holiday.

pop one's clogs This is a euphemistic way of saying that a person is

dead.
Nobody lives in that house since old Roger popped
his clogs.

prime of one's life The prime of one's life is the time in a person's life
when they are
in their best physical condition.
At the age of 75, the singer is not exactly in the prime
of his life!

pull through If you pull through, you recover from a serious illness.
Doris had to undergo heart surgery but she pulled
through.

pushing up the To say that someone is pushing up the

daisies daisies means that they are dead.
Old Johnny Barnes? He's been pushing up the
 daisies for over 10 years!

racked with pain When someone is suffering from severe pain, they
are racked with pain.
The soldier was so badly injured that he was racked
with pain.

ready to drop Someone who is ready to drop is nearly too

exhausted to stay standing.
I've been shopping all day with Judy. I'm ready to
drop!

recharge one's When you recharge your batteries, you take a break
batteries from a tiring or stressful activity in order to relax and
recover your energy.
Sam is completely overworked. He needs a holiday to
recharge his batteries.

right as rain If someone is (as) right as rain, they are in excellent

health or condition.
I called to see my grandmother thinking she was ill,
but she was right as rain.

run down A person who is run down is in poor physical

condition.
She's completely run down from lack of proper food..

spare part surgery Spare-part surgery refers to surgery in which a

diseased or non-functioning organ is replaced with a
transplanted or artificial organ.

spare tyre If a person has a spare tyre, they have a roll of flesh
around the waist.
I'd better go on a diet - I'm getting a spare tyre!

take a turn for the If a person who is ill takes a turn for the worse, their
worse illness becomes more serious.
We hoped he would recover but he took a turn for the
worse during the night.

touch and go If something is touch-and-go, the outcome or result is

uncertain.
 Dave's life is out of danger now, but it was touch-and-
go after the operation.

under the weather If you are under the weather, you are not feeling very
well.
You look a bit under the weather. What's the matter?

up and about If someone is up and about, they are out of bed or

have recovered after an illness.
She was kept in hospital for a week but she's up and
about again.

vim and vigour If you are full of vim and vigour, you have lots of
vitality, energy and enthusiasm.
After a relaxing holiday, my parents came back full of
vim and vigour.