alive and kicking

Active and healthy. A: "How are you doing after your surgery?" B: "I'm alive and kicking!" I thought for sure that old dog wouldn't survive the winter, but he's still alive and kicking!

Fig. well and healthy. Jane: How is Bill since his illness last month? Mary: Oh; he's alive and kicking. The last time I saw Tom, he was alive and well.

Also, alive and well. Alive and alert; living and healthy. For example, John's completely recovered; he's alive and kicking, or You're quite mistaken; our lawyer is alive and well. The first expression, sometimes shortened to live and kicking, originally was used by fishmongers hawking their wares to convince customers of their freshness and has been considered a cliché since about 1850. The variant originated in the 1960s as a denial of someone's reported death.