Idioms – Health, illness and death

Hey guys!

Everybody knows the importance of learning some idioms and colloquial expressions, especially when you live in a foreign country. We always learn a lot of them by communicating with native speakers or watching movies and series. In this section, you learn some idioms and expressions to communicate in a more natural way when speaking English in a foreign country.

Here are a few Idioms related to the topic health, illness and death.

* alive and kicking – to continue to live or exist and be full of energy. (firme e forte, vivinho da silva, mais vivo do que nunca)

She said she’d seen him last week and he was alive and kicking.

* at death’s door – to be very sick or about to die. (à beira da morte)

The patient was at death’s door, but then recovered like a miracle.

* a clean bill of health – a decision by a doctor that someone is healthy. (um atestado de boa saúde)

He’s been given a clean bill of health by the doctor.

* be dropping like flies – If people are dropping like flies, they are dying or falling down in large numbers. (estar caindo como moscas)

The heat was overwhelming and people were dropping like flies.

* end it all – to kill yourself. (acabar com tudo, com a própria vida)

He was emotionally weak and decided to simply end it all.

 * be fighting for your life – when someone is seriously injured or sick and is in danger of dying. (estar lutando pela vida)

She was seriously injured and was fighting for her life for one week, but then suddenly recovered.

* kick the bucket – to die. (bater as botas, pendurar as chuteiras, empinar a carroça)

Have you heard? The old man down the street has kicked the bucket.

* a shadow of your former self – someone or something that is not as strong, powerful, or useful as it once was. (uma sombra do seu antigo eu)

Since her accident, she’s become a shadow of her former self.

* skin and bone(s) – to be extremely thin. (pele e osso)

She was (just) skin and bone(s).

* under the weather – if someone is or feels under the weather, they feel ill. (pra baixo, doente, mal disposto)

I’m feeling a bit under the weather – I think I’m getting a cold.

* a wake-up call – if something that happens is a wake-up call, it should make you realize that you need to take action to change a situation. (um sinal de alerta)

For the insurance industry, these floods were a wake-up call.

* the worse for wear / to be beat, dead, burned-out, dead on your feet – tired or in poor condition because of a lot of work or use. (só o pó, um caco, morto de cansaço)

After a month of journeying over rough roads, the drivers and their trucks were looking the worse for wear.

I hope you learned some new idioms today, see you next time!