![]() ![]() This is something that writers are very much aware of and take into consideration when using phrases like this. Understanding the words, “on cloud nine” doesn’t mean that one is going to know what they are, in this context, referring to. ![]() Like all idioms, this phrase is hard to understand unless one has heard it, read it, or seen it in some form before. Writer use “on cloud nine” in the same way and for the same reasons that the phrase is used in everyday conversations. When was the last time you felt like this? You look like you’re on cloud nine.We were running around like we were on cloud nine until we realized the committee hadn’t actually said our names.Yes, finally! It’s over! I’m totally on cloud nine right now.I’m on cloud nine right now, you really have no idea what this means to me.If someone notices that their friend seems particularly pleased after getting a piece of good news one might say, “How are you feeling right now? Are you on cloud nine?” It’s also possible to use the phrase in the form of a question. Or, in another situation, someone might say, “this was really a wonderful evening, I’m on cloud nine,” in reference to a date or a gathering with friends. This might mean getting a much-needed grade, winning an award or prize, or achieving a goal one has worked a long time for.įor example, one might say, “I can’t believe I won! I’m on cloud nine!” after realizing that they’ve been selected for an award. It’s possible to use “on cloud nine” in a wide variety of situations, ranging from a romantic date to a family gathering, a peaceful vacation, or any imaginable kind of success. It is going to depend entirely on the speaker’s perception of their experience if they feel it’s right to use the words. This blissful happiness can come about in any imaginable way. One might say they are “on cloud nine” after they achieve a goal they’ve been striving after for a great deal of time. The phrase “on cloud nine” refers to a state of euphoria that comes about through success, joy, and intense pleasure. 3 Example Sentences With “On cloud nine”.More crudely, if someone looks completely comfortable and happy in a situation, they are like a pig in muck.ĭo let me know if you can think of any other nice happiness phrases, or any interesting ones from your own language. If someone is happy in an enthusiastic and lively way, we can say they are like a dog with two tails, and if they have a self-satisfied air, they are like the cat that got the cream. All of these phrases are slightly old-fashioned now. It is thought that ‘Larry’ is the undefeated boxer Larry Foley (1849-1917), and that ‘sandboys’ were youths whose job was to deliver sand for the floors of inns, and who were ‘happy’ because they were often rewarded with alcohol! The American version is probably a shortening of ‘as happy as a clam at high tide’, i.e. There are several rather strange similes connected with happiness: Brits and Australians are as happy as Larry or as happy as a sandboy and Americans are as happy as a clam. Something that brightens up your day makes you feel happier, and if you revel in a situation or an activity, you get great pleasure from it. If someone has been sad but becomes more cheerful, we say that they cheer up or perk up. In British English, we also say that we are thrilled to bits. If you are extremely pleased about something that has happened, you can say that you can’t believe your luck. Moving away from height metaphors, In British and Australian English, we can say (rather sweetly, I always think) that someone in a generally happy mood is full of the joys of spring. Similarly, something that makes you feel happier is said to lift your spirits. We can say that we are walking/ floating on air, on top of the world or over the moon. Several other happiness idioms rely on the metaphorical idea of being in a very high place. In fact, you are in seventh heaven (from the belief in some religions that there are seven levels of heaven, the seventh being the highest). Still, it’s enough to know that if you are on cloud nine, you are extremely happy. Nobody really knows the origins of this phrase – one theory is that it refers to the cumulonimbus cloud that was number nine in the ‘International Cloud Atlas’ and rises higher than all other clouds, while another relates to one of the stages of enlightenment in Buddhist thought. ![]() Let’s start with the phrase I’ve used in the title: on cloud nine. My last post was all about sadness, so it is good to turn to a more cheerful subject: happiness. ![]()
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