Episode 10 • Health
As fit as a fiddle
Feel under the weather
Come down with (something)
Be stuffed up
Get over
Story
Last Friday I woke up really excited. I had lots of plans for the weekend and I was looking forward to the end of the work day. I went into to work feeling as fit as a fiddle. As soon as I walked in, I realized a lot of my coworkers weren’t there. I asked the secretary why and, after blowing her nose, she said everybody was sick. Ha! But not me! I never get sick! Lucky me! Or so I thought… At around 10.30, I started to feel a bit under the weather. I made myself some tea hoping it would help. At 12.30 the first sneeze came. That’s when I knew I was coming down with something. By 4.30 I couldn’t even speak properly! I was all stuffed up and by 5 o’clock I felt so sick I had to leave work early and go home. Now it’s Monday. The perfect weekend is over and I’m still in bed because I haven’t gotten over this stupid cold!
Questions
ll right, and we're back. I'm not sick anymore. Actually, wasn't sick. That was my great interpretation of someone being sick.
As fit as a fiddle
'I went into work feeling as fit as a fiddle.'
• If you are as fit as a fiddle, are you very healthy or very sick?
Well, the girl we were talking about, she went into work feeling super well. She was feeling very healthy, as fit as a fiddle.
• And do you feel tired or full of energy?
Well, again, it's something super positive, so you're feeling full of energy. You're feeling great.
• Are you as fit as a fiddle at the moment?
I want to say I am. I don't want to jinx it. I think I'm fine. I haven't gotten really sick in a while, so, hopefully, it'll stay this way, but yes, so far so good. I'm feeling as fit as a fiddle today. I hope you too.
Feel under the weather
'I started to feel a bit under the weather.'
• If you feel under the weather, do you feel good or sick?
If you feel under the weather, that means you feel sick.
• Do you feel very sick or just a little bit?
If you're feeling under the weather, you're just a little bit sick. You're not in bed, dying. It's just like - You're not feeling your best.
• If your ankle hurts a little bit, can you say that you feel under the weather?
No. You do not say that you feel under the weather. You know why? Because you're talking about your ankle. When you're talking about feeling under the weather, it's more about your whole body. Maybe you feel like you're coming down with the flu. There's something wrong in general, but it's not physical pain connected to one part of your body.
• If you feel under the weather, do you go to work or stay at home, normally?
Well, that is up to you. There's no right or wrong answer to this question. I, personally, if I feel under the weather, I'll think I'll just go into work. Well, now work from home, so I just stay in bed, but still, work. I usually don't go to work if it's something serious, but if I just feel under the weather, I'll just go, see what happens. If it gets worse then I may take a day off and if not, well, great. What about you?
Come down with something
'I knew I was coming down with something.'
• If you have come down with something, do you feel good or sick?
If you have come down with something, you feel sick. There's something wrong with your body. You know that things are not going well, that you're probably getting sick.
• If you come down with an illness, is it usually serious or not?
Normally, it's not very serious. People use this expression when they talk about the flu or a cold, "I'm coming down with a cold or I'm coming down with the flu." It's not something that really affects your body in a serious way.
• When was the last time you came down with something?
Ah, luckily enough, I don't really remember because it's been a while. I think maybe it was a few months ago. Yes, I want to say it was a few months ago and I came down with the flu. I was sick for a few days, I had a fever. It was nothing bad, but I definitely was not feeling my best, but luckily enough, it doesn't happen very often.
Be stuffed up
'I was all stuffed up.'
• If you’re stuffed up, can you breathe well?
Well, though, if you're stuffed up you cannot breathe well. Could you hear it? I was stuffed up. My nose was stuffed up, so I couldn't breathe well, and obviously, you cannot speak well. That's why the girl from the story was speaking in that funny way.
• If you’re stuffed up, there’s something wrong with your nose, mouth or eyes?
Whoopsie, I gave that one away earlier. There's something wrong with your nose, okay? That's what makes you not speak properly.
• What causes you to be stuffed up? A cold or a headache?
Well, if you're stuffed up it's because you have a lot of mucus in your nose. This is getting really gross and really disgusting, but this is what being stuffed up is like. Yes, it's connected to a cold. When you have a cold, a lot of times, if it's a serious cold, you might be stuffed up.
• Do you have any remedies for when you are stuffed up?
Not really. I personally just wait for it to go away, wait for my body to heal itself. I remember when I was a child and I couldn't breathe because of the cold, my mom used to use this-- It looks like a cream and it smells like mint. It's got a very, very strong smell and she would spread it right underneath my nose, and that would help me breathe.
Get over
'I still haven’t gotten over this stupid cold!'
• If you get over an illness, are you still sick?
Well, you got over an illness and so you're not sick anymore. It's gone.
• How long does it usually take to get over a cold?
feel that depends on the person. Personally, it probably takes me three to five days to get over a cold. Maybe the first three days are very intense and then the fourth and fifth day are more chill. If you have a cold you made sneeze from time to time, but it's not that bad. You're not super stuffed up.
• What is the best way to get over a cold?
Again, I don't have any wonderful remedies and this is not a medical talk or a medical podcast. I [chuckles] don't have anything to give you. I'm very old school, so I don't take any medicine. There's some people that do take, for example, in America, Tylenol is very popular, if you're not feeling great, if you have a cold or something. Personally, I don't do anything. Some people have warm food or soup, but yes, that's pretty much it. Most of the times you don't need to take anything sweet.
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