Following our popular “Health Proverbs, Idioms, and Phrasal Verbs,” we’re excited to share this new article. Explore more health-related words and try out exercises in the Practice section.

From Illness to Recovery

I’ve always been trying to take good care of myself because I know such efforts would pay off (1) in many ways. Still, in spite of all my running in the morning and avoiding heavy food at night, I felt as sick as a dog (2) the other day. I woke up tired and pale as a ghost (3). I also seemed to have lost my sense of smell, which made me suspect I might have picked up (4) the coronavirus, which I know still goes around (5). During the day I was green around the gills (6), I threw up (7), and yes, I tested positive for COVID-19. That was a month ago, and now I’m glad to say my body has fought off (8) the infection and I feel on top of the world (9). I got all the necessary help at the local hospital, the doctors and nurses were true angels that got me back on my feet (10). It’s great to be alive and kicking (11)!

1. To pay off – if your efforts pay off, you succeed
2. (As) sick as a dog – extremely ill
3. (As) pale as a ghost – exceptionally pale
4. To go around/round/about – if something like a virus goes around, many people contract/catch it
5. To pick something up – if you pick up a disease, you get ill
6. Green around the gills /ɡɪlz/ – to look ill/pale
7. To throw up – to vomit
8. To fight something off – if your body fights off a disease, you recover
9. To feel on top of the world – to feel very good
10. To be back on one’s feet – to be healthy again
11. To be alive and kicking – to be healthy and active

A Surprising Revelation

Something unusual happened to me the other day. After feeling out of sorts (1) for an hour or so, I blacked out (2). That was the first time for me to ever pass out (3). When I came to (4), I didn’t understand what had happened but I thought I had come down with (5) some illness. Somehow, I started craving caramel ice cream and when I had it, it was just what the doctor ordered (6). Then it dawned on me (7) – I could have been pregnant. So, I did the test and the result was positive. In spite of being a bit queasy (8), I felt on top of the world! Me and my husband would become parents! Gee, all of a sudden I was full of beans (9)!

1. To be out of sorts – to be slightly ill
2. To black out – to suddenly become unconscious
3. To pass out = to black out
4. To come to – to recover consciousness
5. To come down with something – to become ill with a particular disease
6. Just what the doctor ordered – exactly what I wanted or needed
7. It dawned /dɔːnd/ on me – I realized it for the first time
8. Queasy /ˈkwiːzi/ – feeling that you are going to throw up
9. To be full of beans – to be full of energy

My Journey Back From a Car Accident

Last month was a nightmare. I got in a car accident and had one foot in the grave (1). I was injured so badly almost no one believed I would make it (2). But somehow I pulled through (3). No wonder my friends have always said I’m a fighter and that runs in the family (4). Anyway, I did need to go under the knife (5) more than once, but the doctors worked miracles on me (6), and even though my condition took a turn for the worse (7) at one point, I didn’t keel over (8). Actually, I’m almost back to normal now. At least, I feel that way. You have to wish me good luck with the rest of my rehabilitation though. A bag of bones (9) like me will sure need it.

1. To have one foot in the grave – to be very ill and likely to die soon
2. To make it – to not die as a result of an illness/accident
3. To pull through – to make it
4. To run in the family – if a particular quality/ability runs in the family, a lot of people in the family have it
5. To go under the knife – to have a medical operation
6. To work miracles – to achieve very impressive results
7. To take a turn for the worse – to become worse
8. To keel over – to die
9. Bag of bones – a person who is extremely thin

Practice

And now let’s put the newly learned vocabulary into practice.

Exercise 1. Click the link here and match the pictures to the idioms/phrases they are about.

Exercise 2. Click the link here and complete the sentences.

Exercise 3. Click here and find the pairs.

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