old man’s friend
n.— «Pneumonia was even called the old man’s friend. Infectious diseases with their usually gentle dying process provided the major cause of death until antibiotics were discovered.» —“Society should accept that euthanasia is a ‘personal decision,’ report says” by Roger Dobson British Medical Journal (U.K.) Feb. 22, 2003. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
When you stub your toe in the dark and blurt something profane, there’s a word for that: lalochezia. One medical dictionary defines it as “the relief gained by uttering indecent or filthy words.” The lalo- element comes from Greek lalia, “speech,”...
Brian from Lafayette, Indiana, wonders why chicken is abbreviated CHX in the restaurant industry. Using X as a substitute or shortener has a long history. Medieval scribes sometimes drew a line through the final stroke of an abbreviated word. This...