如果說 "happy as a lark"很容易被大家接受，因?yàn)?云雀"總在清晨發(fā)出清脆悅耳的啼叫聲；如果說 "happy as the day's long"大家也能夠理解，因?yàn)槿兆娱L了，大家開心的時(shí)間自然多了；那么，為什么會有 "happy as a clam"一說呢？ "Clam" (蛤蜊)和快樂有什么聯(lián)系呢？
在19世紀(jì)上半期，美國俚語迅速發(fā)展， "happy as a clam in/at high water"和 "happy as a clam at high tide"頻繁被人們使用。1860年Atlantic Monthly雜志有這樣一段文字， "I am sure I've been as happy as a clam these last six years, and I don't calculate to reck[sic] that by getting' married, never."
1877年The Galaxy中有這樣一段話: "homely, smacking of humor and belonging to slang, or on its confines, like 'snug as a bug in a rug,'...and 'happy as a clam at high water', that is, when the flood tide protects him from the spade".
我們可以從這句話找到一絲線索，發(fā)揮一下想象。如果你有在沙灘上挖蛤蜊的經(jīng)歷，那么你肯定知道挖蛤蜊要在退潮的時(shí)候，在沙灘上挖個(gè)洞，有時(shí)候要挖兩英尺多深，才會發(fā)現(xiàn)蛤蜊。這只蛤蜊很可能正在抱怨自己的命運(yùn)，企圖逃走。蛤蜊最悲哀的事莫過于在退潮的時(shí)候被海水沖到岸邊；漲潮的時(shí)候，在潮水中安全地飄蕩，才是蛤蜊最快樂的時(shí)光。所以有"Happy as a clam in/at high water"和"happy as a clam at high tide"的說法。
這個(gè)古老的短語，近來成為了時(shí)髦的比喻，在輕松幽默的的談話中，要表達(dá) "非常高興，非常愜意"之意，來上一句"Happy as a clam"，再合適不過。James Coates就在2000年的《芝加哥論壇》的一文中寫道："Your humble corespondent used to be a cheap date in cyberspace. If you gave me a Pentium, a modem and maybe an ink jet printer, I was happy as a clam."
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