大象传媒

Li: Hello, I'm Li and welcome to The English We Speak.

Rob: And hello, I'm Rob. Now Li, I need to tell you something. You know John in the office? Well, he's got a new job.

Li: That's great news. How is he feeling?

Rob: Well, obviously, he's over the moon.

Li: What? John is 'over the moon'? Is he going to be an astronaut?

Rob: No Li! Well, I don't think so. I just mean he's extremely pleased and happy.

Li: Oh I see. I know in the nursery rhyme Hey Diddle Diddle, "the cow jumped over the moon", but I've never heard of a man jumping over the moon, so he must be very, very, very excited.

Rob: It's just a saying Li. He's not actually jumping over the moon. We say it to show that he's so excited that, in theory, he could jump as high as the moon!

Li: And over it!

Rob: Li, do you know how high the moon really is?

Li: No, but I know it's a long way away.

Rob: It certainly is! Let's hear some more examples of people being over the moon...

• When Jane heard she had won the lottery, she was over the moon.

• When he found out he'd passed his exam he was over the moon.

• I can't hide it; I'm over the moon about getting a promotion.

Li: So, being 'over the moon' means being very excited.

Rob: Of course John is not only over the moon about getting a new job, he's also on cloud nine.

Li: What? Now he's on cloud nine?! Is he going to be an airline pilot then, or even a bird?

Rob: Nothing like that. It's just another way of saying he's very excited and happy about something – he's up on a very high cloud – cloud nine.

Li: I see.

Rob: Here's some more examples…

• Julie got married last week and she's been on cloud nine ever since.

• I've never seen Fred so happy; he's been on cloud nine since he passed his exams!

Rob: So now we know what to say about someone who's very excited and happy.

Li: Yes, two good phrases. So, come on Rob, if John is not going to be a pilot or an astronaut, what is his new job? Something just as exciting maybe?

Rob: No – he's going to be an accountant.

Li: Oh, boring! Are you sure? Who is that I can see jumping over the moon? Look!

Rob: Is it a cow? Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

Li: No, no, no – it's John – he really is over the moon! And he really is a star!

Rob: Come on Li, let's get down to earth and say goodbye to everybody.

Li: Bye! See you next week for more The English We Speak. Rob, I think he got stuck over there!