be given a clean bill of health

1. To receive a report of good physical health, as from a doctor's examination. A: "How did your doctor's appointment go?" B: "Good! I have officially been given a clean bill of health!" Josie was relieved to be given a clean bill of health from her physician. Yes, the lion was given a clean bill of health by the zoo's veterinarian team this morning.

2. To be said to be operating properly according to specific standards, as of an organization or process. Despite accusations that the company was responsible for polluting the lake, it was given a clean bill of health by local environmental watchdogs. After several years of financial trouble, the company was finally given a clean bill of health by economic analysts. Yes, the company dealt with an embezzlement scandal a few years ago, but it was recently given a clean bill of health by prominent people in the industry.

See also: bill, clean, given, health, of

clean bill of health, to have a/be given a

To have passed a rigorous inspection. The term comes from the nineteenth-century practice of issuing an actual bill of health, a document signed by the authorities and given to the ship’s master, stating that no infectious diseases existed in the port of embarkation. If there was some kind of epidemic, the ship received a foul bill of health. Before long the term was transferred to the assurance that an individual or group or organization was found, after investigation, to be morally sound.

See also: bill, clean, given, have, of, to

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