Musing on Mondays vol.12

Have you ever wondered where some of the common phrases we say have originated from? I think about stuff like this all the time. I have a list of the little things I hear people say and I wonder to myself, why do we say that? Every Monday I am going to post a phrase and share with you my research as to why we say some of the things we do.

Happy as a clam:

To be "as happy as a clam" means to feel extreme happiness and/or contentment.  The actual phrase is "as happy as a clam in the mud at high tide," but who has time to say all of that. Most, if not all of us, drop the end of the phrase and just hang onto "happy as a clam."  I, personally, never even knew there was more to the saying in the first place.

As for why we say it, clams as dug up, by their predators,  in the mud at low tide.  If you and I were clams, we would feel most safe in the mud at high tide when we weren't being hunted. Thus, we would have a sense of safety and contentment. That would probably make us pretty darn happy.  I can relate to that little clam, because safety from predators, of any kind, truly makes me content and happy too.

 
As always, if you have a common phrase that you would like to know what it means, why we say it, and where it comes from, then leave me a comment and I will do the research for you. Happy musing!