Modified Idioms: Health Trends from “An Apple a Day” to “A Ginger Shot a Day”: A Corpus-Based Study

Abstract

This paper explores the modified forms of idioms, particularly focusing on health-related expressions such as “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” and its modern variant “a ginger shot a day keeps the doctor away”, which gained popularity in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research integrates quantitative analysis using corpora from Sketch Engine, Google Book Ngram Viewer, COCA and dictionaries, along with qualitative methodologies such as critical discourse analysis. The systematic analysis revealed that the evolution of the idiom “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” to “a ginger shot a day keeps the doctor away” reflects a societal shift influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic, emphasizing the perceived health benefits of ginger over apples, supported by historical medicinal uses and contemporary media influences.