eager beaver

eager beaver

One who is industrious and enthusiastic (perhaps annoyingly so). Give that big project to the new girl, she's a real eager beaver. Aren't you an eager beaver, getting to the office an hour early. I want to do anything I can to help my new team, but I also don't want to come off as some annoying eager beaver.

See also: beaver, eager

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

eager beaver

someone who is very enthusiastic; someone who works very hard. New volunteers are always eager beavers. The young assistant gets to work very early. She's a real eager beaver.

See also: beaver, eager

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

eager beaver

An exceptionally zealous person, one who habitually takes on more tasks or works harder than others. For example, Bill is a real eager beaver, always volunteering to stay late. This expression became especially popular during World War II, applied to recruits anxious to impress their commanding officers by such behavior. [First half of 1900s]

See also: beaver, eager

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

an eager beaver

INFORMAL

If you describe someone as an eager beaver, you mean that they are very enthusiastic about work and want very much to please other people. There are always eager beavers, people who stay behind after the talk to ask penetrating questions. Ed was the first to arrive at the office, the eager beaver! Note: Eager-beaver can also be used before a noun. If fraud became an issue, he might interest an eager-beaver lawyer in the case. Note: You usually use these expressions to show that you find someone's behaviour foolish or annoying. Note: Beavers are often associated with hard work, as they spend a lot of time building shelters and dams (= walls across rivers) out of mud and wood.

See also: an, beaver, eager

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

an eager beaver

a person who is very enthusiastic about work. informal

See also: an, beaver, eager

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

an eager ˈbeaver

(informal) a person who is enthusiastic about work, etc: She always starts work early and leaves late. She’s a real eager beaver.

See also: an, beaver, eager

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

eager-beaver

n. a person who is very eager to do something. Rocko is an eager-beaver when it comes to collecting money for Mr. Big.

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

eager beaver

An overzealous or extremely ambitious individual. The beaver has been known as an especially hard worker since at least the seventeenth century, on a par with busy as a bee. It was only in the twentieth century that this not-quite-rhyming expression gained currency. It was widely used for overzealous recruits during World War II who chronically disobeyed the unwritten rule, Never volunteer, and rapidly became a cliché.

See also: beaver, eager

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer