Health-Related Idioms

The leaves are changing, the wind is blowing, and noses are sniffling. Here are a few health-related idioms people use when all they want to say is that they are sick.

1. “Is it just me or is it really cold in here? Maybe I’m coming down with the flu.”

This means you are becoming sick with some sort of illness. If you say you’re coming down with something, it means you don’t feel good. It could be the flu, a cold, or something you’re not exactly sure of.

2. “I can’t even pick up my head right now. I have this splitting headache.”

This means you have a really, really bad headache. It’s an unbearable pain that you wish never to experience again. You feel like your head is splitting, or breaking, open.

3. “I don’t feel like hanging out today. I’m feeling a bit under the weather.”

When you’re coming down with (see #1) something, you are feeling under the weather. You feel ill, so you just want to stay home and do nothing.

4. “Johnny must be running a fever because his forehead is on fire!”

No, Johnny’s forehead isn’t really on fire. It just feels like it is because he has a very high fever. But that’s just in this particular case. You can say someone is running a fever even if it’s not that bad of a fever.

5. “I used to run up these hills. Now I’m in such bad shape so I can’t anymore.”

In this particular case, being in bad shape means that you’re not physically fit and healthy like you used to be. That’s why it’s so hard to run up the hills now. But this expression can be used to describe other situations in which something or someone is not functioning properly. Maybe something is broken or smashed up. Maybe someone got attacked by a large animal and has a broken leg. Whatever the situation, they’re all in bad shape!

Hopefully these won’t have to apply to you (no one wants to be sick!). But in case you do feel ill, you’ll know more than one way to say it. Are there any others that you’ve heard of? Share with us!

Rebecca Jee