Meaning of Idiom ‘Just What the Doctor Ordered’
Something that is just what the doctor ordered is exactly what was needed or wanted; something that is beneficial or desirable under the current circumstances; something that will make a person feel better; the specific thing that is needed. 1,2,3,4,5
Sentence Examples
“Apple pie! Just what the doctor ordered!”
“Would you like a glass of iced tea?” “Sure! Just what the doctor ordered.”
“I can’t wait to go out to dinner and see a movie. A night with just the two of us is just what the doctor ordered.”
“…a quiet night in is just what the doctor ordered. I mean, I love to go out of an evening and wrestle a few Chinese gangsters generally, but a girl can get too much.” — Sherlock: The Blind Banker (2010)
“The man has flaws. When the time is right, they can be used to discredit him.” “Just what the doctor ordered. Better he is disgraced than martyred.” — Children of Dune (2003)
“Go to L’Escargot for dinner, and we’ll go out to a club and we’ll have lots and lots and lots of fun. Just what the doctor ordered.” — The Look of Love (2013)
“so I’m hoping this trip to Reno with our best friends, Candy and Roy, will be just what the doctor ordered.” — Waking Up in Reno (2002)
Origin
Used since the early 1900s, the idiom ‘just what the doctor ordered’ alludes to a physician prescribing a drug or other treatment. Doctors often are often said to ‘order’ a medicine for a patient. This usually takes the form of a written statement for a pharmacist to provide a specific medication. A doctor’s ‘orders’ can also be instructions that the doctor provides the patient. In either case, ‘what the doctor ordered’ is the thing that is needed to cure the ailment, thus the idiom.
References
- Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.
- Ayto, John. [http://amzn.to/2vdGvI7 Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms]. Oxford: Oxford U, 2010.
- Jarvie, Gordon. Bloomsbury Dictionary of Idioms. London: Bloomsbury, 2009.
- Heacock, Paul. Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms]. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2010.
- Kirkpatrick, Elizabeth M. The Wordsworth Dictionary of Idioms. Ware: Wordsworth, 1995.