Top 5 Happy Expressions & Idioms | British English Vocabulary (+ Free PDF & Quiz)

(electronic music)

- Hello everyone and welcome back to English With Lucy.

I am in a really good mood today.

So I decided to make a video about expressions,

English expressions related to happiness.

Now if you're wondering why I'm so happy,

honestly there's no single reason.

It's just life is really fun right now.

The channel's going well, I think we're just about to hit

300,000 subscribers which is amazing.

I'm moving house soon.

The sun is coming out, the days are gonna

start getting longer.

Just really happy.

So those are the reasons I'm happy.

When you finish watching this video, please do

comment below and tell me something that's made you

happy recently, and if you want to use one of these

expressions, you are more than welcome.

Now a lot of you have been asking,

"Where is your 250,000 subscriber Q&A video with your dad?"

(sighs) That was a mouthful.

And the answer is, my dad is an extremely busy man,

I didn't realise how busy he was.

And so it's been hard to pin him down,

it's been hard to get him and make him stay in one place.

So hopefully this week I'll be able to film it with him.

So it should be uploaded quite soon.

I'm still using all of the questions that you asked

on the original Instagram post.

So look forward to that.

Quickly before we get started, this video is going to help

your speaking and your listening.

It's gonna help your speaking because I'm going to

teach you new phrases or new expressions to use,

and it will improve your listening because you'll be able

to understand what natives mean when they use

these expressions, but if you want to take your listening

to the next level, don't forget to sign up to

Audible.com, I can offer you a free audio book

and a free 30 day trial.

All you have to do is click on the link in the

description box and I've just found out that

you can listen to Sherlock Holmes read by Stephen Fry.

And if you don't know who Stephen Fry is, I'll see if I can

get a picture here.

Stephen Fry, he's a comedian and he speaks with

a received pronunciation, so that could be

a really good one to download if you want to practise

your received pronunciation.

Right, let's get started with the video.

The first expression relating to happiness is

to be over the moon.

And to be over the moon means to be really, really happy,

believe it or not.

So, I can say that last Thursday, I passed my driving test

and I was over the moon because I had to try

three times, yes, that was my third test.

Yeah, I was completely over the moon because driving

is not something that has come naturally to me,

and it really bothered me for a long time that

I couldn't drive, but now I can, so I'm over the moon.

The next expression related to happiness is

to have a whale of a time.

And to have a whale of a time, well, you guess what

this one means.

Let me use this one in an example and see if you can guess

what it means.

Just a clue, it has nothing to do with whales.

So I went to a ball on Saturday, and a ball is like

a posh party, you normally have dinner, then you can dance.

I went to a ball on Saturday with a group of friends

and I had a whale of a time.

Okay, so to have a whale of a time means to have

a fantastic time.

Nothing to do with whales.

Now the next one, number three is actually

a slang expression, but I think it's really important

that you guys know this one.

We definitely use it a lot in England.

It is to be buzzing.

Now, if you say, "I'm buzzing," it means I'm really

exhilarated, really enthusiastic, really happy,

really excited about something.

So it means I've got positive emotions in my body,

and it is a good feeling, okay.

So I could say, "I've just booked my tickets for (foreign),"

which I seem to mention all the time, but I am buzzing.

I cannot wait to go.

So that is a perfect situation, a perfect example of

the word buzzing, because I literally am buzzing.

(buzzes)

Coffee must have did that.

Okay, number four-- (blows lips)

Okay, number four is to be happy as Larry.

Who is Larry?

It doesn't matter, cuz it's not relevant.

I don't know who Larry is.

I'm sure one of you will Google the etymology of

happy as Larry and find out, but to be happy as Larry

mean to be really, really happy.

So I might ask, you know, "Does John like his new job?"

And you could reply saying, "Yes, he is happy as Larry.

"He is as happy as Larry," meaning he is as happy as can be.

The final expression related to happiness

is to be on top of the world.

To be on top of the world and to be

on top of the world means, you guessed it guys,

it means to be really, really happy.

To be just elated, so delighted, so happy.

Yeah, so I would say when I found out that I graduated

from university with a first-class degree,

I was on top of the world.

I was really, really amazed, happy, just buzzing.

Right, guys, that is it for today's lesson.

I hope it brought a little bit of happiness into your life,

and as I said before, I would love to hear about

something that made you happy recently,

maybe using one of the expressions that we discussed today.

Put it in the comments, I really am keen to hear about that.

And don't forget to sign up for your free trial

of Audible.com, the link is in the description,

and you can connect with me on all of my social media.

I have my Facebook page and my Instagram.

I will see you soon for another lesson.

Muah.

(electronic music)