"What's Up Doc?"

Simon O'Donovan
Jul 26, 2025
4 min read

Updated: Jul 27, 2025

This CST activities page is a short dementia cafe type quiz. All members need to do is to name the doctor, nurse, TV programme or movie.

⛔️ under construction - ideas gratefully received

IDIOMS

Here are a few health related idioms to get things going. Ask members to complete these well known phrases by way of a shout out (we find it helps build confidence) ...

Idioms about Good Health & Recovery:

Fit as a fiddle: In excellent physical condition; very healthy and strong.
In the pink (of health): To be in a very good state of health or perfect condition.
On the mend: Recovering from an illness or injury; getting better.
A clean bill of health: A statement or report from a doctor confirming that someone is in good health, with no medical issues.
A new lease of life: A renewed sense of energy or vitality, often after overcoming an illness or hardship.
Back on your feet: Healthy again, or recovered from an illness or difficulty.
Right as rain: To feel completely well and healthy.
A picture of health: Someone who looks very healthy and fit.
Full of beans: Lively, active, and healthy.
In tip-top shape: Being in excellent physical or mental condition.
Alive and kicking: In good health, despite previous illness or injury.

Idioms about Poor Health & Illness:

Under the weather: Feeling slightly sick or unwell.
Sick as a dog: Very ill; often used to describe vomiting.
Green around the gills: To look ill and pale, often as if about to vomit.
Look/feel like death warmed up/over: To look or feel very sick or tired.
Have one foot in the grave: To be very old or very ill, or a TV sitcom.
In bad shape / Out of shape: Lacking physical fitness or not in good condition.
A frog in one's throat: Difficulty in speaking due to a cough or sore throat.
Burning the candle at both ends: Overworking or staying up late and waking up early, leading to exhaustion and ill health.
Take a turn for the worse: To get sicker, often suddenly, after a period of stability or improvement.
Out of sorts: Not feeling well, in a bad mood.
As pale as a ghost/death/sheet: Extremely pale due to fear or illness.
Black and blue: Badly bruised.
Have a splitting headache: To have a very bad headache.

Idioms about Doctors, Medicine & Hospitals:

An apple a day keeps the doctor away: Eating healthy foods can help prevent illness.
Just what the doctor ordered: Exactly what is needed or wanted to improve a situation or condition.
Go under the knife: To undergo surgery or a medical operation.
A bitter pill to swallow: An unpleasant fact or situation that one must accept.
A dose of one's own medicine: To experience the same unpleasant or negative treatment that one has given to others.
Take your medicine: To accept an unpleasant situation without complaining.
On the road to recovery: Starting to feel better after an illness or injury.

Proverbs & Sayings about Health & Well-being:

Health is wealth: Good health is the most valuable asset one can possess.
Prevention is better than cure: It's more effective to prevent problems than to treat them after they occur.
Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise: Emphasizes the benefits of a good routine for overall well-being.
You are what you eat: Your health and well-being are a direct result of the food you consume.
Laughter is the best medicine: Being happy and cheerful can improve one's health and well-being.
A healthy mind in a healthy body: Highlights the interconnectedness of physical and mental well-being.
Health is not valued till sickness comes: We often don't appreciate our health until we lose it.
The beginning of health is sleep: Good sleep is fundamental to good health.
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: A cheerful attitude can have positive health effects.
He who has health has hope; and he who has hope, has everything: Emphasizes health as the foundation for all aspirations.
Take care of your body; it's the only place you have to live. (Jim Rohn quote often used as a proverb)
Seven days without exercise makes one weak. (A playful proverb about the importance of physical activity)

Song break - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L4qauTiCY4&list=RD_L4qauTiCY4&start_radio=1

Name These TV Doctors & Nurses / TV Shows / Movies

Make time to discuss favourites, listen to theme tunes and so on ...

Here is a Spotify playlist ...

Some possible song choices:

"Doctor My Eyes" - Jackson Browne
"Doctor! Doctor!" - Thompson Twins
"Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)" - Robert Palmer
"Comfortably Numb" - Pink Floyd (mentions a doctor giving an injection)
"When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman" - Dr. Hook
"Goodness Gracious Me" - Peter Sellers & Sophia Loren ("Oh, doctor I'm in trouble..."
"Staying Alive" - The Bee Gees
"Fever" - Peggy Lee
"Ain't Got No / I Got Life" - Nina Simone