Pharmacy & Getting Better Expressions

just what the doctor ordered

Tip: lit. the same — said about anything that hits the spot.

a bitter pill to swallow

Tip: lit. 'a bitter pill to swallow' — about accepting bad news.

the cure is worse than the disease

Tip: lit. 'the medicine is worse than the illness' — when the fix causes more harm.

prevention is better than cure

Tip: lit. 'better to pre-empt than to be pre-empted' — act before the problem hits.

better safe than sorry

Tip: lit. 'better to take the certain before the uncertain'.

a taste of your own medicine

Tip: lit. 'get to taste one's own medicine' — treated as you treat others.

to take something with a pinch of salt

Tip: lit. 'take something with a pinch of salt' — don't believe it fully.

an old wives' tale

Tip: lit. 'an old tall tale' — a folk remedy nobody has checked.

to feel under the weather

Tip: lit. 'be a bit poorly' — mildly ill, not bad enough to see a doctor.

to be run down

Tip: lit. 'be driven down' — worn out and catching everything.

to come down with something

Tip: lit. 'have pulled something on oneself' — to have caught something.

there's a bug going around

Tip: lit. 'something is going around right now' — an illness circulating.

it's going round the office

Tip: lit. 'it's going at work'.

to be laid up in bed

Tip: lit. 'lie decked' — flattened by illness, casual.

to be at death's door

Tip: lit. 'lie for death' — seriously, often dramatically, ill.

to have a frog in your throat

Tip: lit. 'have a frog in the throat' — hoarse, can't get the words out.

it knocks you right out

Tip: lit. 'you become completely gone from it' — about drowsy medication.

to sleep it off

Tip: lit. 'sleep it away' — sleep until it passes.

to nurse someone back to health

Tip: lit. 'fuss over someone until they're well' — pyssla om is the caring verb.

to run in the family

Tip: lit. 'lie in the family' — about hereditary conditions.

to be in safe hands

Tip: lit. 'be in safe hands' — reassuring someone about their care.

it'll pass

Tip: lit. 'it goes over' — the standard Swedish shrug at minor illness.

available without a prescription

Tip: lit. 'prescription-free' — the standard word on the shelf label.

only on prescription

Tip: lit. 'only on prescription' — what the pharmacist tells you at the counter.

to read the patient leaflet

Tip: lit. 'read the enclosed slip' — the folded paper in every box.

the side-effects list is terrifying

Tip: lit. the same — and always read anyway.

one in ten thousand

Tip: lit. the same — how the rare side effects are given.

to be allergic to penicillin

Tip: lit. the same — say it before they hand anything over.

to finish the whole course

Tip: lit. 'take the whole course' — what the pharmacist always says.

twice a day with food

Tip: lit. 'twice a day with food' — straight off the label.

the expiry date

Tip: lit. the same.

a repeat prescription

Tip: lit. 'a renewed prescription'.

the prescription has expired

Tip: lit. the same.

the free card

Tip: lit. 'the free card' — once you pass the high-cost ceiling, care is free.

an interchangeable medicine

Tip: lit. the same — the pharmacy must offer you the cheapest equivalent.

would you like the cheaper one?

Tip: lit. the same — asked at every counter.

to be on the mend

Tip: lit. 'be on the improvement road' — for someone recovering after an illness.

to feel a bit better every day

Tip: lit. the same.

the fever broke

Tip: lit. 'the fever let go' — the moment it turns.

to be back on your feet

Tip: lit. 'be on feet again' — recovered and functioning.

to be as fit as a fiddle

Tip: lit. 'lively as a roach (the fish)' — in great shape.

to be given the all clear

Tip: lit. 'be declared healthy' — officially well again.

to overdo it too soon

Tip: lit. 'exert oneself too early'.

to have a relapse

Tip: lit. 'get a setback'.

a stubborn cough that lingers

Tip: lit. 'a stubborn cough that sits in'.

to soldier on regardless

Tip: lit. 'fight on despite everything'.

to be signed off for a few days

Tip: lit. 'be home from work a few days'.