is that saying "happy as a CLAM" or "happy as a CLOWN"?
i always thought it was clam.... but she disagrees
2007-01-16 05:59:03 · 16 answers · asked by GirliGirl 3 in Family & Relationships ➔ Friends
HAPPY AS A CLAM
[Q] From Judy Austin, Idaho: “Do you have any idea of the origins of the phrase happy as a clam? I’ve heard it and used it for years without wondering just how one would determine that a clam is happy — my acquaintance with the mollusc is strictly through consumption.”
[A] Near that stage in their lives, only the most masochistic of molluscs could be expected to experience anything but a sense of imminent dread. Even the most comfortable of clams, however, can hardly be called the life and soul of the party. All they can expect is a watery existence, likely at any moment to be rudely interrupted by a man with a spade, followed by conveyance to a very hot place.
John G Saxe put it better, or at any rate more poetically, in his Sonnet to a Clam, in the late 1840s:
Inglorious friend! most confident I am
Thy life is one of very little ease;
Albeit men mock thee with their similes,
And prate of being “happy as a clam!”
What though thy shell protects thy fragile head
From the sharp bailiffs of the briny sea?
Thy valves are, sure, no safety-valves to thee,
While rakes are free to desecrate thy bed,
And bear thee off, — as foemen take their spoil,
Far from thy friends and family to roam;
Forced, like a Hessian, from thy native home,
To meet destruction in a foreign broil!
Though thou art tender, yet thy humble bard
Declares, 0 clam! thy case is shocking hard!
The saying is very definitely American, hardly known elsewhere. The fact is, we’ve lost its second half, which makes everything clear. The full expression is happy as a clam at high tide or happy as a clam at high water. Clam digging has to be done at low tide, when you stand a chance of finding them and extracting them. At high water, clams are comfortably covered in water and so able to feed, comparatively at ease and free of the risk that some hunter will rip them untimely from their sandy berths. I guess that’s a good enough definition of happy.
The saying in its shortened form is first recorded in the 1830s, though it is almost certainly a lot older; by 1848 the Southern Literary Messenger of Richmond, Virginia could say that the expression in its short form “is familiar to every one”.
2007-01-16 06:04:56 · answer #1 · answered by c_leoo 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
this answer is clam, because the opening to a clams shell is in the shape of a smile
2007-01-16 14:17:55 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
it is clam, happy as a clam. who knew that clams are happy, and how can you tell? clown would make more sence, but the saying is clam.
2007-01-16 14:07:39 · answer #3 · answered by Nicki 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can say "Happy as a ...." and fill in the blanks
go to Google.com and type in "happy as a" and you will see several variations. But, "Happy as a clam" does show up the most frequent.
Other examples:
Happy as a King
Happy as a Sunflower
Happy as a school boy (girl)
2007-01-16 14:06:01 · answer #4 · answered by Erica, AKA Stretch 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i heard the saying was always happy as a clam!
2007-01-16 14:02:59 · answer #5 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Happy as a clam but it makes as much sense as cute as a button!!!
2007-01-16 14:03:25 · answer #6 · answered by avillecatwoman 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
HAPPY AS A CLAM
2007-01-16 14:08:52 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's clam...not sure how a clam can be happy but it is Happy as a clam.
2007-01-16 14:03:07 · answer #8 · answered by Shannon 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Clam...your right!
2007-01-16 14:03:08 · answer #9 · answered by sassywv 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are right it is clam.
2007-01-16 14:08:08 · answer #10 · answered by tiffantre 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋