Meaning & use
script doctor
Last updated
UK/ˈskrɪpt ˌdɒktə/
US/ˈskrɪpt ˌdɑːktər/
Meaning
nouncountableinformal
A writer hired to fix and improve a film or television script written by someone else, often without credit.
Grammar: Takes an or the: they hired a script doctor.
Patterns
- call in a script doctor
- script doctor on something
The studio called in a script doctor to fix the ending.
She worked as a script doctor on several comedies.
The script doctor rewrote the dialogue in a week.
Word forms
| plural | script doctors |
|---|
Common combinations
- hire a script doctor
- The producers decided to hire a script doctor.
- uncredited script doctor
- He was an uncredited script doctor on the film.
- call in a script doctor
- They called in a script doctor for the third act.
- work as a script doctor
- She works as a script doctor between her own projects.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rewriter
- A rewriter may revise only parts, while a script doctor is brought in to solve specific problems.
- screenwriter
- A screenwriter writes the original script, not repairs someone else's.
- editor
- An editor trims or cuts material, while a script doctor writes new material.
Word family
- script noun
- the written text of a film or play
- doctor verb
- to change something to improve or falsify it
- screenplay noun
- the script of a film
Commonly confused: script doctor or script doctor?
script doctor vs script doctor
Not a medical person; the word doctor is figurative, meaning someone who repairs.
Practice
Why would a studio hire a script doctor?
Choose one answer.
A script doctor fixes problems in a script. The other options involve unrelated jobs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “script doctor”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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