Meaning & use
dodgy ticker
Last updated
Meanings
nounsingularinformalBritishhumorous
A heart that does not work reliably, especially one with a known medical problem.
Grammar: Countable in form but almost always used with 'a' or 'his/her/my', not in the plural.
Patterns
- have a dodgy ticker
- a dodgy ticker
My grandad can't climb stairs quickly because he's got a dodgy ticker.
She jokes that her dodgy ticker is the reason she avoids the gym.
nounsingularfigurativeinformal
A person's heart seen as the source of their feelings or courage, used figuratively.
Grammar: Used in the same structure as sense 1, but the meaning is emotional rather than medical.
Patterns
- a dodgy ticker
He says his dodgy ticker acts up whenever he has to speak in public.
Don't listen to your dodgy ticker — just ask her out.
Common combinations
- have a dodgy ticker
- He's had a dodgy ticker since he was a child.
- a bit of a dodgy ticker
- The old dog's got a bit of a dodgy ticker, so we take walks slowly.
- suffer from a dodgy ticker
- She suffers from a dodgy ticker and has to rest often.
- his dodgy ticker
- His dodgy ticker kept him out of the marathon.
Synonyms and how they differ
- heart condition
- This is the neutral, medical way to say it; 'dodgy ticker' is informal and slightly joking, so it would be out of place in a doctor's notes.
- bad heart
- Similar in meaning and also informal, but 'bad heart' sounds a little harsher and less affectionate than 'dodgy ticker'.
- weak heart
- This focuses on the heart being physically weak, while 'dodgy ticker' stresses that it is unreliable or faulty.
Word family
- dodgy adjective
- Not working properly or not to be trusted.
- ticker noun
- Informal word for the heart, or a machine that shows moving prices.
Commonly confused: dodgy ticker or ticker-tape parade?
dodgy ticker vs ticker-tape parade
A ticker-tape parade is a public celebration with paper thrown from windows. It has nothing to do with the heart.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'dodgy ticker' in the most natural way?
Choose one answer.
Only option B uses 'dodgy ticker' to mean a weak or unreliable heart, which is the fixed informal meaning. 'Dodgy' alone can describe a faulty object, but 'ticker' in this phrase always refers to the heart.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dodgy ticker”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.