BALLYHOO BUCKAROO & SPUDS

Book excerpt: The real story of a word or phrase’s origin and evolution is often much stranger—and much more humorous—than the commonly accepted one; the many entries will certainly leave you “happy as a clam.” Happy as a clam? Really, what’s so happy about being a clam? The saying makes much more sense when it’s paired with its missing second half: “at high water.” Now a clam at high water is a safe clam, and thus a happy clam. From the bawdy to the sublime, Quinion’s explanations and delightful asides truly prove that the “proof is in the pudding.”