barrel of sunshine
- noun
- Informal
:
rayo de sol
- Whenever she walks into the room, she brings a barrel of sunshine with her.
Examples
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Despite the rain outside, his positive attitude felt like a barrel of sunshine.
-
He must've been a barrel of sunshine when he heard.
Blog text (8) -
Her laughter is like a barrel of sunshine, brightening everyone's day.
Synonyms
269
1.4
A good thing or situation that brings happiness
66
1.0
A cheerful feeling from a person that makes others feel happier
7
3.2
A person who makes others feel happy
1
3.4
Something or someone that brings hope during a difficult time
A person or thing that brings a lot of joy
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
barrel + of + sunshine
The phrase evokes a literal image of a container (barrel) full of sunshine, so its figurative meaning — a person who brings warmth or cheer — is directly inferable from knowing 'barrel' and 'sunshine' and the 'X of Y' compositional pattern. Container-as-abundance metaphors are common across languages, making this expression immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows the constituents.
Etymology
The phrase barrel of sunshine may come from imagining a small wooden barrel full of bright sunshine that pours out light and warmth when opened. So, it describes a person or thing that brings 'joy' and 'warmth' to others.