clean bill of health
18
3.3
- idiom
- /klin bɪl ʌv hɛlθ/
:
certificado de buena salud
- Yeah, doctor gave me a clean bill of health.
She, you know, if she had issues, normally the defence do that, but the police actually took the steps to do that and they gave her a clean bill of health.
- She, you know, if she had issues, normally the defence do that, but the police actually took the steps to do that and they gave her a clean bill of health.
Examples
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Following the thorough inspection, the building was awarded a clean bill of health by the safety officer.
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Dr. Archer has finished his examinations and given them all a clean bill of health.
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The doctor gave me and the baby a clean bill of health.
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The plant got a clean bill of health this afternoon.
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However, I just saw my doctor, who has given me a clean bill of health.
Blog text (14) -
I have been granted a clean bill of health, and so have you.
Fiction book (1992) -
A physical examination resulted in a clean bill of health.
Blog text (32) -
We have a reassuringly clean bill of health.
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Private Santiago was given a clean bill of health.
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Suppose I told you the biopsy report came back and I was given a clean bill of health?
Fiction book (1997)
Synonyms
9
3.8
An official report that says a person, project, or group is well and able to continue
Surface Forms
Morphology
The constituents 'clean' (free from defect) and 'health' (state of being well) plus 'bill' (a written statement) make the overall sense partially derivable — it can be parsed as a document stating good health. However, the collocation 'bill of health' is somewhat idiomatic/dated and the sense of 'bill' as an official certificate may not be obvious to a B1 learner without exposure, so the meaning is only partially predictable.
Etymology
Clean bill of health comes from old ships where people in charge gave a bill saying whether the crew had sickness. A 'clean' bill meant no sickness, so today the phrase means an official note that someone or something is 'healthy' or has 'no problems'.