the.com/clean bill of health
The doctor's way of saying your bad habits haven't caught up with you yet.
means An official declaration or assessment that someone or something is in good condition, with no problems found.
from This one's nautical. A 'bill of health' was a certificate given to a ship's master confirming no infectious disease aboard at the port of departure — vital in the age of plague and quarantine, since a 'foul bill' meant the ship had sailed from a port with an outbreak. A 'clean bill' let the ship dock and trade freely elsewhere. The phrase sailed ashore into general English, eventually coming to mean any all-clear, medical or otherwise.
- origin
- Comes from ship certificates proving no plague aboard
- reality check
- Reflects tested things only, not untested time bombs
- shelf life
- Valid until your next cheeseburger, basically