LadyButterfly she/her@piefed.blahaj.zone to memes@lemmy.worldEnglish · 2 months agoTotallypiefed.cdn.blahaj.zoneimagemessage-square8linkfedilinkarrow-up13arrow-down10
arrow-up13arrow-down1imageTotallypiefed.cdn.blahaj.zoneLadyButterfly she/her@piefed.blahaj.zone to memes@lemmy.worldEnglish · 2 months agomessage-square8linkfedilink
minus-squareTheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.workslinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up0·2 months agoThat’s not a common phrase, though…
minus-squareFooBarrington@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkarrow-up0·2 months agoIt literally is https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=happy+as+a+clam&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3&case_insensitive=true
minus-squareTheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.workslinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up0·edit-22 months ago Those are very small percentages. Maybe it is a phrase some people use, I’ll accept that, but it is not common. Compare with an actually common expression
minus-squareFooBarrington@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkarrow-up1·2 months agoMost phrases have very small percentages, as they are measured against all other combinations of words in literature. Since it’s an informal idiom, it’s also much more common in spoken than in written language.
minus-squareTheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.workslinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up0·2 months agoEven with those small percentages, ‘free as a bird’ was twice as common.
minus-squareFooBarrington@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkarrow-up1·2 months agoAgain, “happy as a clam” is very informal. “Free as a bird” is much less so, so it makes sense it pops up more often in literature.
minus-squareouthouseperilous@lemmy.dbzer0.comlinkfedilinkarrow-up1·2 months agoAlso more poetic, shows up in poetry and song lyrics, pre-written spreches, etc.
minus-squareFiskFisk33@startrek.websitelinkfedilinkarrow-up1·edit-22 months agoYou are literally showing it’s half as common as “free as a bird”, a VERY common phrase. That only proves it’s common!
That’s not a common phrase, though…
It literally is
https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=happy+as+a+clam&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3&case_insensitive=true
Those are very small percentages. Maybe it is a phrase some people use, I’ll accept that, but it is not common.
Compare with an actually common expression
Most phrases have very small percentages, as they are measured against all other combinations of words in literature.
Since it’s an informal idiom, it’s also much more common in spoken than in written language.
Even with those small percentages, ‘free as a bird’ was twice as common.
Again, “happy as a clam” is very informal. “Free as a bird” is much less so, so it makes sense it pops up more often in literature.
Also more poetic, shows up in poetry and song lyrics, pre-written spreches, etc.
You are literally showing it’s half as common as “free as a bird”, a VERY common phrase.
That only proves it’s common!