Feeling elated?

What does "happy as a clam" mean? Learn 10 ways to express joy

Image: Ben White

Who doesn’t want to be happy? Isn’t that what our journey through life is all about? We’re always after that soothing feeling of happiness, which comes in many forms. Proof of that is the many ways we’ve got to express joy in our language, one more colorful than the other. You can be like a dog with two tails, over the moon, or happy as a clam, but there’s no doubt you’re feeling happy and gleeful. In this article, we’ll see 10 different ways to express joy, are you ready?

Image: Vladimir Anikeev

There is a great variety of idioms to express happiness, and what sets each of them apart is the intensity of the feeling. Let’s begin our list with one that describes feelings of extreme happiness or satisfaction, that’s what you feel when you’re on cloud nine.

Now, why nine? There is more than one theory around it, but the most likely is that "cloud nine" refers to an actual classification of the clouds by the U.S. Weather Bureau, where cloud nine was one of the highest clouds. The veracity of this story is debated, but, in any case, the feeling in the expression is quite clear: happiness levels are all the way up there!

Image: Andrew Hughes

Even if it has changed a lot, happiness is a basic feeling and has been so forever. Considering this, it’s no surprise that a nursery rhyme from the 16th century gave us one expression to describe this.

To be "over the moon" means to be incredibly pleased or delighted about something. This phrase became popular after the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle," where the cow jumps over the moon, an impossible feat! It’s used to describe the kind of happiness that makes you feel like you could leap across the sky. And we truly feel that at times, don’t we?

Image: Tim D

If it wasn’t obvious before, it is now: Happiness and altitude are inherently connected! "On top of the world" is yet another expression that describes what you feel when you are elated and in high spirits.

When you’re "on top of the world," you feel invincible, as if nothing can bring you down. Have you ever been on top of a mountain? A city is lying right under you, you look down at everything below with a sense of accomplishment and joy.

It’s used to describe the elation that comes with success and even if its origin is not entirely clear, it’s been used for decades!

Image: engin akyurt

In this expression, altitude is only one aspect, religion is the other. The figure of Heaven takes us to a place up there with the God that rules our beliefs. The expression has been around ever since the 1800s and is not exclusive to a particular religion.

To be "in seventh heaven" is to be in a state of perfect happiness, as if you’re floating in paradise. This phrase has roots in ancient religious beliefs, where the seventh heaven was considered the highest, most blissful level of heaven. It’s a way of saying you’re as happy as you can be, living in your own personal utopia. Quite romantic, don’t you think?

Image: Mark Tegethoff

Spring is indeed a joyful time. Flowers bloom, the days are longer, the warm weather combines with the mild wind, and the general feeling that something good is coming our way is always there. How not to feel full of the joys of spring?

When you are "full of the joys of spring," you’re brimming with energy and happiness, much like the lively season itself. This phrase is perfect for describing the burst of positivity and enthusiasm that comes with a good mood. Whether it’s the weather or just life’s little pleasures, being full of the joys of spring is a wonderful way to feel.

Image: Alice Dote

It’s no news: man’s best friends use their tails to express happiness. How cute is it to see our fluffy friends wagging frantically at the sight of a treat or the leash getting ready for a stroll? There’s no topping that feeling for them. Well, there could be a way, maybe if they could wave two instead of the one tail, right?

That’s what the expression describes, the feeling that the ecstasy cannot be any higher, any better, any deeper. To be "like a dog with two tails" means to be extremely happy, so happy that if you had two tails, you’d wag them both!

Image: Derek Owens

Camping is a very popular activity all over the US, especially for kids. Who as a parent didn’t send their kids to a summer camp? Who, as a kid, didn’t look forward to that bus taking them to the camp every summer? Well, one could say, those were happy campers.

A "happy camper" is someone who’s content, satisfied, and generally in a good mood, no matter the situation. The American Slang Dictionary theorizes that the expression comes from the idea that a camper, enjoying the great outdoors, is cheerful and easygoing. It’s a simple, lighthearted way to express that you’re feeling good and have no complaints. Are you a happy camper?

Image: 晓 和

Can anyone measure how happy clams are feeling? We certainly don’t believe so, yet this is a very popular expression. Let’s see why.

To be "happy as a clam" means to be perfectly content and at ease. One could say the simile originates from thinking that a clam that’s safely hidden away in its shell is extremely happy.

Linguists believe the phrase comes from a longer version that goes "happy as a clam at high tide," when clams are harder to find and disturb. It’s a cozy, comfortable kind of happiness, where everything feels safe. Now it makes more sense, don’t you think?

Image: Tetbirt Salim

Idiomatic expressions are created in all sorts of ways. The simplest of them, are usually created organically. There’s no complex twist in their form or meaning. That is the case for this expression.

It is quite straightforward: When you’re "grinning from ear to ear," you’re so happy that your smile stretches as wide as it can go. It is the kind of happiness that shows on your face for everyone to see. The downside? It is impossible to hide too! But then again, who would want to hide their happiness?

Image: Todd Cravens

We don’t know about you, but we’ve never been able to see a whale and immediately state they were feeling ecstatic. They don’t precisely portray the image of happiness. So how did this expression become so popular?

First, let’s talk about the meaning: To "have a whale of a time" means to enjoy yourself immensely, to feel delighted, big time! Big as a whale? Possibly.

This expression has been around since the late 19th century and the whale metaphor has to do with how much you’re enjoying yourself. It’s not just about having a good time, it’s having the best time you could have!

Popular beliefs

The myth behind carrots that started with WWII radar technology

You’ve heard it before: Don’t swim after eating. You’ll lose most of your body heat through your head. Swallow a piece of gum, and it’ll stay in your body for years. Many of these common beliefs that parents or teachers have told you repeatedly over the decades are simply not true. Here are 10 everyday myths that science has set straight, and the real stories behind them.

The myth of carrots providing a better sense of vision in the dark became especially popular during World War II, when the British government promoted this idea to help explain the success of its pilots while keeping its new airborne radar technology a secret. It was just a myth, although there was a scientific explanation to back it up.

Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, which your body converts into vitamin A, an important nutrient for healthy vision. If someone is deficient in vitamin A, eating more of it can improve their eyesight. But for people who already get enough of the vitamin, extra carrots won't suddenly make it easier to see at night.

You hear footsteps in the middle of the night and find a family member quietly wandering through the house while asleep. Your first instinct is to wake them up, but remember you’ve been told it’s dangerous. That’s just a myth, so go ahead and wake them.

The person may be startled, confused, or briefly disoriented, but there’s no evidence that being awakened causes physical injury. The bigger concern is that someone suddenly pulled from sleep may react unpredictably or accidentally lash out because they don’t understand what’s happening. For that reason, sleep specialists usually recommend gently guiding the person back to bed if it’s safe to do so, rather than abruptly shaking them awake, but there’s no intricate danger to waking a sleepwalker.

Almost everyone has heard the sharp popping sound of someone cracking their knuckles, followed by another person saying, "Keep doing that, and you’ll get arthritis."

Researchers have been looking into that claim for decades, and the evidence simply doesn’t support it. The popping sound comes from tiny gas bubbles forming and collapsing inside the fluid that lubricates your joints, not from bones grinding together. Multiple studies comparing habitual knuckle crackers with people who never crack their knuckles have found no higher risk of developing arthritis. Some research has suggested that frequent knuckle cracking may slightly reduce grip strength or cause temporary swelling in a few people, but it has not been shown to damage the joints. So while the sound may bother the people around you, it isn’t likely to lead to arthritis.

Most of us have heard someone say, "Imagine what you could do if you used the other 90 percent of your brain." The truth is that modern brain imaging has shown that virtually every part of the brain has a purpose.

Even when you’re resting, different regions are constantly working together to control movement, memory, breathing, emotions, vision, and countless other functions. While not every area is active at the same moment, there is no large section of the brain sitting permanently unused. Scientists aren’t exactly sure where or how this myth started, but your brain is one of the busiest organs in your body. Even while you’re asleep, it’s hard at work keeping you alive and processing the day’s experiences.

If a child accidentally swallowed a piece of gum, some adult would inevitably claim it would sit in the stomach for the next seven years.

The warning, even if a myth, contains a small grain of truth. The gum base isn’t fully broken down by the digestive system the way other foods are. But that doesn’t mean it stays behind. Instead, it moves through your digestive tract along with everything else you eat and is naturally eliminated within a few days. So while swallowing pieces of gum isn’t something doctors recommend making a habit of, there’s no need to worry if it happens by accident.

After lunch at the lake or a backyard barbecue, the adults would insist everyone, especially the kids, stay out of the water for at least an hour. The idea was that digestion would pull blood away from your arms and legs, causing severe muscle cramps that could make you drown.

Medical research, however, has found no evidence that eating before swimming creates that kind of danger. While vigorous exercise immediately after a very large meal might make some people feel uncomfortable or sluggish, a normal swim after eating is generally considered safe for healthy individuals. The "wait an hour" rule probably prevented plenty of cannonballs during nap time over the years, but it wasn’t based on scientific evidence.

If you ever left the house on a cold winter morning without a hat, chances are someone reminded you to wear one since "most of your body heat escapes through your head." The belief became widespread after military studies conducted in the 1950s observed significant heat loss from uncovered heads. What they didn’t notice was that the subjects were bundled up everywhere else. Naturally, their only exposed body part lost the most heat.

In reality, your head loses heat at about the same rate as any other uncovered area of skin, depending on its size. A warm hat is still a smart idea on a cold day, but only because it covers exposed skin, not because your head has some special ability to leak away most of your body heat.

Many tongue illustrations show the tongue divided into neat sections, with one area for sweet foods, another for salty flavors, and others for sour and bitter. The famous "taste map" came from a misunderstanding of research published in the early 1900s.

While some parts of the tongue may be slightly more sensitive to certain flavors than others, taste buds across nearly the entire tongue can detect sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami, the savory taste found in foods like mushrooms, cheese, and broth. The old diagram appeared in textbooks for decades, making it one of the most successful scientific misconceptions ever taught in classrooms. Today, we know the tongue is much more versatile than that simple map suggested.

If you grew up in the age of bulky television sets, you may remember a parent telling you to back away from the screen before you damaged your eyes. That warning became especially common in the 1960s when early television models were found to emit unusually high levels of radiation because of a manufacturing defect. Those sets were quickly recalled, but the myth lingered long after the problem disappeared.

Modern televisions don’t pose that risk. Sitting very close to the screen may leave your eyes feeling tired or dry after a while, but it doesn’t cause permanent damage to your vision. Even if screen time is not recommended for children up until 7 years old, the screen itself isn’t likely to be the cause of poor eyesight.

Everyone learned about the five senses at some point: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. That lesson dates back more than 2,000 years to the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle.

However, modern science paints a much more intricate picture. In addition to the five traditional senses, your body constantly relies on other senses that work without you even noticing them. These include your sense of balance, your awareness of where your arms and legs are without looking, your ability to feel pain, temperature, and more. Depending on how they’re classified, scientists recognize anywhere between 10 and 20 different senses.