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clam
(redirected from clamming)

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
*happy as a clam (at high tide) and *happy as a clam (in butter sauce); *happy as a lark; *happy as can be
contented; very happy. (*Also: as ~.) I've been as happy as a clam since I moved to the country. I don't need much. Just somewhere to live, some work to do, and a TV to watch, and I'm happy as a clam at high tide. Matthew was happy as a lark throughout his whole vacation. Bob was happy as can be when he won the lottery.
See also: happy

clam up

to say nothing. (Closing one's mouth in the way that a clam closes up.) The minute they got him in for questioning, he clammed up. You'll clam up if you know what's good for you.
See also: up

be as happy as Larry/a sandboy  (British & Australian) also be as happy as a clam (American)
to be very happy and to have no worries We married nine days after we met, and three years on we're happy as Larry. Since he's been at college he's as happy as a clam.
See also: happy

shut up like a clam

to suddenly stop talking and to refuse to say any more
Usage notes: A clam is a fish with a shell which closes up very quickly if something attacks it.
When I asked him about his trip to Korea, he shut up like a clam.
See also: like, shut, up

(as) happy as a clam
very happy I am happy as a clam living all by myself in this little house by the sea.
Etymology: based on the full form of the phrase happy as a clam in mud at high tide (a clam that cannot be dug up and eaten, which therefore could be considered happy)
See also: happy

clam up

to refuse to talk or answer Every time I think he's going to tell me what's bothering him, he just clams up.
Etymology: based on the behavior of a clam (a sea creature), which quickly closes its shell when something touches it
See also: up


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Some state beaches opened to clamming The Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife on Monday announced the reopening of recreational razor clamming from the south jetty of Yaquina Bay to the California border, and recreational mussel harvesting from Bastendorf Beach near Charleston to the California border.
On the site, parents and their children can find information on the joys of fishing, clamming, crabbing, or minnow catching, and they can purchase the equipment needed for those activities.
The cost is based on the type of accommodation you choose and the more up market fly fishing lodges with their own guides tend to be more expensive, but they do provide extras There are plenty of B&B''s in the Island which offer reasonably priced accommodation and will include in the cost of your stay a day out fishing from the beach and the bank as well as crabbing, shrimping, clamming and musseling.
 
 
 
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