Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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adj
Extremely happy and carefree.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: informal
Qualifier: simile
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
This has been said to refer to the Australian boxer Larry Foley (1849–1917), who never lost a fight. This is not likely as the earliest reference to the phrase is in a letter to the editor of the Illawarra Mercury in Wollongong, Australia in 1857. In it the correspondent "G U A" (probably Dr. George Underwood Alley, known for regularly corresponding with newspapers) writes "...we'll all live together, like Brown's cows, and be as happy as Larry."
Across languages
3 source translations are retained for this English entry.
