in a jolly mood
1
2.8
- idiom
- We were in a cab on Chicago's Outer Drive, and for once Mrs. Bitter was in a jolly mood.
Examples
-
Well, since everyone's in a jolly mood, now's a good a time as any to announce.
-
The non-Virgilian apotheosis of Dido has dearly been tacked on to give the chorus and ballet something brilliant to do by way of bringing down the curtain and sending everyone home in a jolly mood.
Academic text (2000) -
After receiving the good news, she was in a jolly mood and couldn't stop smiling.
-
The children were in a jolly mood as they opened their gifts on Christmas morning.
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Even on a rainy day, he managed to stay in a jolly mood and spread cheer to everyone around him.
Synonyms
481
1.0
Happy and lively, full of fun and energy
100
1.0
Happy and lively in a friendly way
99
1.0
Happy in a way you show with a smile or friendly actions
56
1.8
Feeling very happy and showing it
17
3.7
Feeling cheerful and not worried about serious things
15
3.2
A strong feeling of being very happy and excited
14
5.0
Feeling very happy because of a success or a good event
13
3.9
Happy and friendly in a lively, joking way
13
2.5
Smiling very widely and looking clearly happy
10
5.8
Cheerful and full of energy
6
8.2
Very lively and full of energy
5
3.0
Feeling very happy and full of energy
4
3.2
Cheerful and friendly to other people
1
9.9
Smiling brightly because you feel happy
1
8.1
Happy and full of energy
1
9.0
Feeling happy and cheerful
1
3.7
A happy relaxed feeling when people laugh and joke
Antonyms
How Happy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'feeling cheerful and happy' is directly derivable from the constituents: 'jolly' = cheerful and 'mood' = emotional state, combined with the common pattern 'in a _ mood'. This compositional structure is cross-linguistically common and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows the individual words.
Etymology
In a jolly mood uses jolly, which means merry or full of cheer, together with mood, meaning a state of feeling. Imagine someone smiling and almost dancing — that picture shows why it means 'feeling cheerful and happy'.