happy hunting ground
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happy hunting ground
A utopia. Used by Native Americans to describe the afterlife. The annual car swap meet is a happy hunting ground for automotive enthusiasts.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
happy hunting ground
A place where one can find or do what one wishes without restriction. For example, The North Shore is a happy hunting ground for antique collectors. This term alludes to the Native American idea of an afterlife where hunters find unlimited game. [Early 1800s]
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.
happy hunting ground
a place where success or enjoyment is obtained.This phrase originally referred to the optimistic hope of Native Americans that the afterlife will be spent in a country where there are good hunting grounds.
1991 Antique Collector With Old Master drawings still considered an undervalued genre, this should prove a happy hunting ground for those in search of a bargain.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
a happy ˈhunting ground
(humorous) a very good place to find what you want: The Sunday antique market is a happy hunting ground for collectors.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
happy hunting ground
Heaven; a place of abundance, replete with what one wants. The idea comes from the beliefs of Native American tribes that after death they will go to a paradise with an abundance of game and therefore always have enough to eat. The term appears in the works of James Fenimore Cooper and other writers on Indian subjects. As Cooper wrote in The Pathfinder (1840), “‘Do the dead of the savages ever walk?’ demanded Cap. ‘Ay, and run, too, in their happy hunting grounds.’” Later the term became a euphemism for death, and still later it was transferred to any place of abundant treasures.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer