March is the Month of Books. In March we celebrate the International Day of Women (8th) and International Day of Teachers (28th), but

… do you know what is celebrated on 20th March??

It is the International Day of Happiness.

Many people are looking for happiness for years. They are trying to find the “secret pill” how to become happy.

Professor Ed Diener, a psychologist from the University of Illinois, says there is no one key to happiness but a set of ingredients that are vital. His formula for happiness is as follows:

pleasure + engagement + meaning = happiness

He says family and friends are crucial – the wider and deeper the relationships with those around you the better.

Though the formula above is really nice, may be the elemental root is to feel inner happiness and peace.

… And for being satisfied that we have learned something new (or have revised), let’s have a look at the following idiomatic expression about feelings.

1. to be up in arms about something

= to be very angry, complaining about something

We are up in arms about the closure of the village library.

😠🗯

2. something makes your blood boil

= it causes you to feel anger

Smoking neighbours really make my blood boil.

🩸🩸🩸

3. jump out of the skin

= to be extremely frightened

She almost jumped out of her skin when she found a spider in her bathroom.

😨🕴

4. to be fed up with something

= to be annoyed, frustrated, or tired of something that you have been experiencing too much of

I’m fed up with these meeting. We are here since the morning and we have agreed about nothing.

😫😞👎

5. shaking like a leaf

= to be scared, nervous, or cold

Jim was shaking like a leaf when he was talking to his boss.

Are you okay? You’re shaking like a leaf?

🍃😨

6. get/have butterflies in stomach

= have a nervous, anxious feeling in stomach

Liz always has butterflies in her stomach before exams.

Do you ever get butterflies in your stomach before job interviews?

🦋🦋😰

7. feel blue or have the blues

= to be depressed or sad

Mark listens to Bach when he’s feeling blue.

Walking in the park is a good way to make yourself feel better when you have the blues.

🟦😞

8. to be pumped

= to be very excited for something, usually something in the future that you are really looking forward to

Fans were so pumped before the final match.

⛽😄💗

9. paint the town red

= to be very happy and going to go celebrate something with friends or relatives, or going out to a bar/party to have a good time

I’m so happy you passed your exam. Let’s go out and paint the town red!

The precise origin of this idiom is not known. However, red has just often been associated with excitement, good times, and extravagance.

🟥😃💖

10. grinning (smiling) from ear to ear

= to look happy because one is smiling broadly and seems to be in the true state of happiness, e. g. when something important has been accomplished

The whole team was grinning from ear to ear when they won the match.

👂😊👂

11. to be a barrel of laugh

= to be fun, funny, and pleasant

I always have so much fun when Tom is around – he’s a barrel of laughs!

🛢😂

12. to be over the moon

= to be extremely happy, delighted, or pleased

My friend has just won in a lottery and he’s over the moon about it.

My wife and I were over the moon when we found out we were going to be parents.

This probably comes from the old nursery rhyme from the 1800s which involved a cow jumping over the moon. In kid’s picture books this cow usually looked quite happy to be leaping over the moon 🤔…