Pumpkin positive
Shine a penlight in the mouth and the whole head would glow — patient with very little upstairs.
Definitions
The mental image is the joke. Stick a penlight in the patient's mouth and the skull would light up like a jack-o'-lantern because there's so little brain to absorb the light. Doctors use it under their breath about a patient who's not the sharpest — the kind who can't follow simple instructions. Cruel, but it's been kicking around medical break rooms for decades.
Pumpkin positive In A Sentence
Origin & Usage
Anglo-American medical slang. The 'positive' apes a real clinical sign.
People Also Ask
What does Pumpkin positive mean?
Pumpkin positive is dark medical slang suggesting that if you shone a penlight in the patient's mouth, their whole head would glow like a jack-o'-lantern because there's so little brain inside. It's a cruel joke implying the patient isn't very bright.
How do you use Pumpkin positive in a sentence?
"Chart notes joked, in so many words, that the patient was pumpkin positive." It's used mockingly among medical staff to describe someone seen as dim.
Is Pumpkin positive offensive?
Yes, it's derogatory dark humour used privately among medical staff and would be insulting if a patient heard it. It's slang jargon, never an official diagnosis.
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