HEALTH IDIOMS & VERBS

(Matching Exercises)
THE CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE

• 100% Fitness
• Ailments
• Not Feeling 100%
• Infected with/complain of/undergo
• To Be Very Ill
• To Have A Second Chance
• When Recuperating After An Illness
• To Be Near Death
• Dying
• After Death

• The Answer Key

100% FITNESS

1-To be as fit as a
.....................................

2-To be bursting with

...............................
• daisy
3-To be in fine • fettle
.......................................... • fiddle
• health
4-To be the ................................ • pink
of health • picture
• scratch
5-To be as fresh as a
................................. sound
6-To be safe and ................. (after
drama)

7-To be found without a ...........

on him/her (after being missing)

8-To be in the ...............................

AILMENTS A-a painful area near a cuticle
on your foot
to have:-
B-a painful joint in the arm
1-A dicky ticker (slang)
C-a swollen joint in the leg
2-A gammy leg (slang)
 3-Housemaid’s knee (Colloquial)
D-a weak heart
4-Tennis elbow (Colloquial)
E-an upset stomach
5-A slipped disc (Colloquial)
F-diarrhoia
6-An ingrowing toenail
G-loose stools
7-Farmers’ lung (colloquial)
H- pulmonary fibrosis/chronic
8-Bird fanciers’ disease (colloquial)
lung disease
9-The trots (slang)
I-spinal damage
10-The galloping gut rots (slang)
J-to be lame
11-The runs (slang)

NOT FEELING 100%

(Responses to: How are you?)

1-So ... A... as I would like

2-As well as ... B... better

3-Could be ... C... can be expected (under the

circumstances)
4-Not as well ...
D... complain, I suppose.
5-Can’t ...
E... so
INFECTIONS, SYMPTOMS & TREATMENT

Choose which columns below can be chosen to complete the following:-

1-To be infected with ......................................

2-To complain of ......................................

3-To have ......................................

4-To undergo ......................................

A B C D E
 (an ailment) hayfever surgery (a contagious disease) (symptoms) headache a scan

a virus an operation measles stomach ache an x-ray

a cold radio-therapy diphtheria giddiness a blood test

chemo-therapy typhoid vomiting an examination, an injection

a virus a tooth filled

a tooth removed

TO BE VERY ILL

1-To be riddled with

.................................

2-To be living on borrowed • cancer

................................. • disease
• health
• time
3-To be in declining
• way
.................................

4-To have a degenerative

.................................

5-To be in a bad
.................................
TO HAVE A SECOND CHANCE • convalesce
• easy
• lease
1-To be given a new .....................
• regime
of life

2-To be following a new

.................................

<>()<>

WHEN RECUPERATING
AFTER AN ILLNESS
 1-To ....................... (=to rest after illness)

2-To take it .................................

TO BE NEAR DEATH

1-To be at death’s .................................

2-To be near the .................................

• away
• bed
3-To be wasting ................................. • croak
• decrepit
4-To be about to ................................. it (slang) • door
• end
• legs
5-To be about to meet one’s ................................. • maker
(idiom)

6-To be on one’s last .................................

7-To be on one’s death .................................

8-To be old and .................................

DYING

1-To be beyond .................................

• away
2-To kick the ................................ (slang/disrespectful) • bucket
• help
• maker
3-To meet one’s .....................................
• on
• sky
4-To pass .................................................

5-To pass ..................................................

6-To go to that great (bakery) in the ............

(railway station for railworker, bakery for a baker, etc)

AFTER DEATH

(Important: Do not use the following when • daisies

speaking to someone who has been recently • feet
bereaved) • pushing
1-To be ............................. under
• six
2-To be ................ up the ..............

• More free exercises by Bibi Baxter

THE ANSWER KEY
100% FITNESS AILMENTS

1-To be as fit as a FIDDLE 1-D, 2-J, 3-C, 4-B, 5-I, 6-A, 7-H, 8-H, 9-(FGE), 10-(FGE), 11-(FGE)
NOT FEELING 100%
2-To be bursting with HEALTH
1-E, 2-C, 3-B, 4-A, 5-D
3-To be in fine FETTLE

4-To be the PICTURE of health

5-To be as fresh as a DAISY

6-To be safe and SOUND (after drama)

7-To be found without a SCRATCH on him/her (after being missing)

8-To be in the PINK

INFECTIONS, SYMPTOMS & TREATMENT TO BE VERY ILL

1-To be infected with ( typhoid, a virus, an infectious disease, diphtheria, 1-To be riddled with CANCER.
measles, typhoid)
2-To be living on borrowed TIME
2-To complain of a cold, a headache, a stomachache, giddiness, vomiting
3-To be in declining HEALTH
3-To have a cold, a virus, a scan, an x-ray, a blood test, an examination, an
injury, vomiting, an operation, radio therapy, chemo-therapy, measles, 4-To have a degenerative DISEASE
diphtheria, a tooth filled, an examination, an injection, a tooth removed

5-To be in a bad WAY

4-To undergo an operation

DYING AFTER DEATH

1-To be beyond HELP (Important: Do not use the following when speaking to someone who
has been recently bereaved)

2-To kick the BUCKET (slang/disrespectful)

1-To be SIX FEET under

3-To meet one’s MAKER 2-To be PUSHING up the DAISIES

4-To pass ON

5-To pass AWAY

6-To go to that great (bakery) in the SKY

(railway station for railworker, bakery for a baker, etc)

TO BE NEAR DEATH TO HAVE A SECOND CHANCE

1-To be at death’s DOOR 1-To be given a new LEASE of life

2-To be near the END 2-To be following a new REGIME

3-To be wasting AWAY <>()<>

4-To be about to CROAK it (slang) WHEN RECUPERATING AFTER AN

ILLNESS
5-To be about to meet one’s MAKER (idiom)
1-To RECUPERATE
6-To be on one’s last LEGS
2-To take it EASY .
7-To be on one’s death BED

8-To be old and DECREPIT