Meaning & use
rude health
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Meanings
phrasefixed phraseBritishold-fashioned
in very good health and full of strength, especially in a way that is easy to notice.
Grammar: Used mainly after "in": someone is in rude health. It is not used before a noun, so say "he is in rude health", not "a rude health man".
Patterns
- be in rude health
- remain in rude health
- seem in rude health
My grandmother is eighty-six and still in rude health.
After a long rest, the team came back in rude health and won easily.
Despite the hard winter, the cattle were in rude health.
phrasefixed phraseBritishfigurative
used about an organization or system that is strong and doing well.
Grammar: Also follows "in", but the subject is a company, industry or system rather than a person.
Patterns
- be in rude health
- remain in rude health
Reports suggest the publishing industry is in rude health.
The club's finances are in rude health after a record year.
Common combinations
- be in rude health
- He is in rude health at ninety.
- remain in rude health
- The business remains in rude health.
- still in rude health
- She is still in rude health after her operation.
- in remarkably rude health
- For his age, he is in remarkably rude health.
Synonyms and how they differ
- in good health
- The plain, neutral way to say this; "in rude health" is more vivid and sounds more British.
- fit as a fiddle
- An informal idiom meaning very healthy; it describes people, not companies.
- thriving
- Fits organizations and businesses better than people, and stresses growth rather than strength.
Opposites
Word family
- rudely adverb
- In a way that is impolite; it has nothing to do with the meaning in "rude health".
- rudeness noun
- The quality of being impolite; again unrelated to this phrase.
Commonly confused: rude health or robust health? rude health or crude health?
rude health vs robust health
"Robust health" is a neutral, slightly formal way to say someone is strong and healthy; "rude health" is a fixed British idiom and sounds more old-fashioned and colorful.
rude health vs crude health
"Crude" means rough or raw, so "crude health" is not a standard phrase — the idiom uses "rude".
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
The phrase is fixed as "in rude health" after the verb "be". Option 1 uses it correctly. The others break the pattern: "a rude health" wrongly adds an article, and the last two drop "in" or add words that do not belong.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rude health”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.