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Neil said that Li looked like a happy bunny. Find out what does it mean in The English We Speak.
Are you a happy bunny?
The script for this programme
Neil: Hello, I'm Neil. I'm having a bad day. Something terrible's happened. My goodness, what's that approaching?!
Li: Hello! Hello, Neil!
Neil: It's Li! What's going on?
Li: You'll never guess what's happened to me!
Neil: You do look like a happy bunny!
Li: Ha ha, yes! I am! A happy bunny, which literally means a happy rabbit. It's another of those strange English expressions. What Neil actually means is that I look happy. Why rabbits are involved I don't know, that's just the way it is. Here are some examples of this expression in use.
Examples
- That's brilliant news, you must be a very happy bunny!
- I'm a happy bunny today because I passed my English test.
Li: Yes, Neil, I am a happy bunny! But what about you? Is something wrong?
Neil: I'm not a happy bunny. You see … Something awful happened today.
Li: Oh. Neil is not a happy bunny – that's something you can say to describe a person who is unhappy.
Examples
- Someone's stolen Michael's car. He is not a happy bunny!
- Jane has not been a happy bunny ever since she broke up with her boyfriend.
Li: So Neil, what happened to you?
Neil: I had a ticket for tonight's concert with Kyladonna Jagger, the most famous and brilliant superstar alive! I was such a happy bunny.
Li: Wow! I'm also going to see the Kyladonna Jagger concert tonight, that's why I'm so happy!
Neil: I was eating lunch in the park and I put the ticket next to me. But a gust of wind blew it away!
Li: Oh dear. Funny, that's just the opposite of what happened to me. I was sitting in the park and suddenly a ticket landed on my lap!
Neil: Hang on, let me see that.
Li: Here it is. See? Here is my ticket.
Neil: That's mine!
Li: No, it's not yours. It's mine!
Neil: Give it back!
Li: No, it's mine!
Neil and Li: Oh no!
Li: Now no-one is going to the concert!
Neil: Now I'm definitely not a happy bunny.
Li: Nor am I.
