IELTS Speaking Idioms Compilation of the Topic Health and Fitness

IELTS Speaking – Compilation of Idioms on the Topic: Business and Economics

In English, besides using collocations to make your speech more natural and engaging, idioms are also frequently used in everyday…

IDIOMS	MEANING	EXAMPLE
A frog in one’s throat	difficulty speaking because your throat feels dry	I had *a frog in my throat*, and I had to clear my throat several times before I could answer.
(As) fit as fiddle	to be very healthy and strong	Because of eating fish nearly every day, Japanese people are *as fit as a fiddle* even the elderly.
(As) right as rain	to feel healthy or well again	You just need a good night’s sleep, and then you’ll be *right as rain* again.
(Back) on one’s feet	healthy again	The doctor said he’d be *back on his feet* again soon.
Green around the gills	to look ill and pale	Mai, who stuck to a starvation diet, looks kind of *green around the gills*.
Clean bill of health	a decision by a doctor that someone is healthy	He’s been given *a clean bill of health* by the doctor.
Feel/look like death warmed up/over	to look or feel very sick	He shouldn’t be working when he’s so sick – he *looks like death warmed over*!
Full of beans	to have a lot of energy and enthusiasm	I’ve never known anyone be so *full of beans* before breakfast.
Go downhill	to gradually become worse	After the death of her mother, Anna’s health *went downhill*.
Kick the habit	to give up something harmful that you have done for a long time	She used to be a heavy smoker but she *kicked the habit* last year.
On the mend	becoming healthy after an illness	She’s still in the hospital, but she’s definitely *on the mend*.
Take a turn for the better	to become better	His stomach could *take turn for the better* without having any operation.
Take a turn for the worse	to become worse	Despite undergoing major operation, his health *takes turn for the worse*.
Get into the pink of health	To become healthy or in excellent condition	It took a few weeks of bed rest to *get into the pink of health* again.
Bag of bones	someone who is extremely thin	The child was just *a bag of bones* when we found her.
Cast-iron stomach	describe someone who can eat all kinds of things without ever feeling sick	It’s too spicy for me, but John will love it. He has a *cast iron stomach*!
In bad shape	lacking physical fitness	Tom needs exercise. He’s *in bad shape*.
Sick as a dog	vomiting a lot	I was *sick as a dog* after last night’s meal.
Have one foot in the grave	to be very old and near death	Jane looks as though she *has one foot in the grave*.
Run in the family	if a quality, ability, disease, etc. runs in the family, many members of the family have it	After studying his family’s health history, the doctor said that it was a disease that *ran in the family*.
At death’s door	to be very sick	He has won five golf competitions in three months, a year after being *at death’s door*.
Drop like flies	if people are dropping like flies, they are dying or falling down in large numbers	The heat was overwhelming and people were *dropping like flies*.
Knock someone sideways/for six	to make someone very ill	That flu really *knocked me sideways*.
Under the weather	feel ill	I’m feeling a bit *under the weather* – I think I’m getting a cold.
A picture of health	one who is or looks especially healthy, robust, of full of vitality	My grandmother is nearly 70 and smokes two packs of cigarettes a day, but somehow she’s still *the picture of health*.
Out of shape	not physically healthy enough for difficult exercise because you have not been involved in physical activities	I’m so *out of shape* that I get out of breath climbing the stairs.