General
departure lounge
What does departure lounge mean?
British hospital slang for the elderly-care ward, on the grim logic that a fair number of patients won't be leaving by the front door. Pure NHS dark humour, used by staff among themselves and never within earshot of families.
"I'm on the departure lounge all week, bring strong coffee."
Frequently asked questions
What does departure lounge mean as slang?
It's a darkly humorous term for the geriatric ward.
How do you use departure lounge in a sentence?
"They've moved Grandad up to the departure lounge, as the nurses call it."
Is departure lounge offensive?
It's gallows humour and can come across as callous, so it's used more among staff or in jest than around patients or families.
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Vocabulary Flow — saved to your collection.
