Cloud Nine

“To be on cloud nine” is an English idiom meaning to be very happy.

Here are some examples of how we use it:

• She was on cloud nine when she got a place at university.
• He’s been on cloud nine ever since we told him that we were going to Disneyland.
• Barcelona won the championship and now I’m on cloud nine.

You might wonder why it’s cloud nine. Well, perhaps it comes from “seventh heaven” which is mentioned in various religions, including Islam and Judaism. But how that changed to cloud nine is a bit of a mystery.

There are several other English idioms that include references to clouds. They include:

• “To be under a cloud”. We use this to refer to someone who is distrusted or unpopular, because of something they have done or are suspected of having done. For example – “He has been under a bit of a cloud ever since he broke that window”.
• “To have one’s head in the clouds”. We use this about someone who is out of touch reality. For example – “It’s no good asking her what’s going on. Her head’s in the clouds. All she does is think about the latest films”.
• “Every cloud has a silver lining”. Meaning that however bad something is, there’s always something good to come from it. For example – “I know things look bad at the moment, but remember that every cloud has a silver lining”.
• “A cloud on the horizon”. We use this idiom to warn that something bad might happen. For example – “Things look good at the moment, but be careful – there’s a cloud on the horizon. We ought to wait until we get the latest test results”.
• “A cloud of suspicion”. Meaning that someone is suspected of doing something bad. For example – There’s been a cloud of suspicion hanging over you ever since that money went missing”.

^{Posted by Graham}