Doc Rat: Medical Jargon

[theoldwolf]

Today's Doc Rat was funny - but I had to go to an Oz Jargon site to get the meaning of "L.A.D. was cactus".

Listening to medicos and nurses chatter can be like trying to decipher Schwyzerdütsch as spoken by a Texan...

Comments

[torakiyoshi.livejournal.com]

So... you aren't gonna tell us?

-=Kiyoshi

[ccdesan.livejournal.com]

Cactus: dead, not functioning ("this bloody washing machine is cactus")

[torakiyoshi.livejournal.com]

Thank you, sir. *Bows*

-=Kiyoshi, who knows not any Oz Jargon sites

[carlfoxmarten]

The juxtaposition of a highly-trained professional alongside the enthusiasm and incredulity of youth made that one so funny.

[r-caton.livejournal.com]

Trained, yes.... mightily able in his environment too, as the Fuzz incident demonstrated...
but put Ben with Dani and he's as helpless as the rest of us in our dealings with the fair sex....

[ccdesan.livejournal.com]

... and that's just not fair!

[alaskawolf.livejournal.com]

i wish he was my GP

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

Wait -- "Mr. Mister Fuzz"? Was the redundancy intentional, like his real first name is Mister?

[sleepyjohn00.livejournal.com]

This is why I suggested to Jenner that there should be a Doc Rat forum. He shied away from the idea, alas. Maybe someday.

[secoh.livejournal.com]

it's a good comic for sure!
It's good to see familiar jargon for a change instead of the vast flood of US stuff.

Yeah, "cactus" means broken, not functioning, damaged beyond use etc etc or otherwise "broken, with a capital 'F'".

Another of course is "rooted", which means pretty much the same thing, but generally a replacement for the "F" word (aka "to have a root" is to have sex). So it would go some way to explaining the hilarity that ensured when a Texan friend sang the "Rooting Song" (as in rooting for the team) for us. Taken in the local context it was the funniest thing I had heard in a long time, and I had to explain why afterwards.

[ccdesan.livejournal.com]

It was imperative while vacationing in Ireland to remember that when driving, one never offers someone a "ride"... but rather, a "lift".