overused phrase alert..."Over the moon"

[Rock'n Robin]

This morning JLo is "over the moon" about her babies. Every celebrity who gets married, pregnant, or has kids is now "Over the moon". Even Eddie Murphy was "over the moon" when he got 'married'.
If I remember right that is a british phrase, and I don't remember which celebrity started this....but it is getting kind of silly. In all honesty I have never heard one regular person say "over the moon"--"It's almost spring break and I'm over the moon!"
Robin M.

 

[Maleficent13]

Origin of phrase

Over the moon

Meaning

Very happy or delighted.

Origin

This phrase has been part of the language for more than a century. It has become more widely used in the past twenty or thirty years, since it was adopted by English football (no, not soccer please - the game is called football) managers when interviewed after 'the boys' managed a victory.

<snip for incredibly lengthy discussion of football commentators>

The actual origin is from much earlier and, although not widely used before the 1970s, it would have been familiar to all who grew up in Britain in the 20th century. Why, because it comes from the well-known 16th century nursery rhyme Hey diddle, diddle - originally written as High, diddle, diddle :

Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon.
The little dog laughed to see such fun
And the dish ran away with the spoon!

The rhyme is quite probably nonsense and has no agreed meaning. The 'over the moon' line did however soon came to be associated with excitement and energy. That's evidenced by one of the earliest citations of the phrase in print - Charles Molloy's The Coquet, or, The English Chevalier, 1718:

"Tis he! I know him now: I shall jump over the Moon for Joy!"

 

[Allison]

I don't think it was started by a celebrity. I heard this phrase for as long as I can remember.

 

[Jennasis]

Oh my God you are a mind reader! I was just CRINGING this morning when I heard the guy from people say that JLo was OTM about the twins. I so wanted to start a thread. If I hear it one more time I am going to scream.

 

[MomofKatie]

I could definitely see ANYONE saying they were "over the moon" about becoming a parent- it is quite the amazing experience.

However, I have never actually uttered that particular phrase in my life, and know of very few people who have. Maybe it's a phrase that these celebrities' publicists throw out because it's trendy? They put out these press releases all the time, and I don't believe they quote the celebrities' exact words usually.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

Oh I didn't mean a celebrity started it as in invented it, I don't know when celebrities started using this phrase all the time whenever they are happy. Maybe using this phrase hasn't made it to the midwest yet. "Ohio State beat Michigan and I'm over the moon!"
Robin M.

 

[HollyJoy]

Well, my Mom uses that expression all the time, but she's in her 80's! LOL

 

[mm_ja]

Could we add the phrase "Step Up" or "Stepped Up" to the list of overused phrases. I feel it is a good phrase and has good intentions, but every reality show competitior uses this phrase over and over. I blame Mtv.

 

[pogo791]

Maleficient, there are several theories about the origin of the "over the moon" rhyme about the cat and the fiddle, one of them going back to Elizabethian England (we're talking the 1500s, here), and the other back to Richard III (the 1400s).

One theory is that the cat is Elizabeth I, and the dog mentioned in the rhyme is Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Elizabeth's "lap dog'.

The Richard III theory is that the riddle describes how he got rid of Edward V in order to reach the throne. A cow was the Neville emblem; they rose in power to "eclipse" the Percys, whose emblem was a moon.


But regarding the "over the moon," am I the only one who, having been brought up on Jackie Gleason and the Honeymooners, immediately think of him threatening to sock Alice "to the moon"?

 

[FayeW]

The first time I ever heard the phrase "over the moon" was when Prince Charles was announcing Prince William's birth. I believe he said "the Princess and I are over the moon".

It is a very common British phrase, and seems to be catching on in America, much like Britney and Madonna's fake British accents.

Personally, I like it when British people describe something wonderful as being "brilliant". I love that!