lark (redirected from larkish)

*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: clam, happy

for a lark and on a lark

for a joke; as something done for fun. For a lark, I wore a clown's wig to school. On a lark, I skipped school and drove to the beach.

See also: and

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be up with the lark  (British, American & Australian) also be up with the crows (Australian)

to be awake and out of your bed early in the morning

Usage notes: Larks and crows are birds that start singing very early in the morning.

You were up with the lark this morning!

See also: up

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(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: clam, happy