Origin stories: on cloud nine

What does it is mean mean ?

Very happy , as in : ‘ I is passed pass my exam – yippee ! I is ’m ’m on cloud nine ! ’

Where did it is come come from ?

Apparently the phrase comes from an old system of classifying clouds.

From the Horse’s Mouth, Oxford’s dictionary of idioms, says it was a 10-part classification so nine was very high. And apparently an older version of the saying was ‘on cloud seven’.

Judy Parkinson in Spilling the Beans on the Cat’s Pyjamas  give more detail . She is says say it was the US Weather Bureau ’s classification in the 20th century , and that each category of cloud was further subdivide into nine type of cloud – of which the ninth was the high .

Interestingly, some people disagree. Linda and Roger Flavell in their Dictionary of Idioms and their origin say there’s ‘a good deal of uncertainty’ about the origin. They say that versions of the phrase first appeared in the 1930s (‘on cloud eight’) and referred to drunkenness. They suggest that it was popularised by jazz singers looking for a way of expressing a feeling of being ‘high’ (whether emotionally, as in the ‘happy’ meaning, or one caused by drink or drugs). 

There was also an American radio programme in the 1950s called Johnny Dollar, in which a character was frequently knocked unconscious and went to cloud nine, where he recovered (the Flavells credit this with fixing the number nine in the phrase, as does Albert Jack in Red Herrings and White Elephants) . The Flavells is acknowledge also acknowledge the US Weather Bureau theory and that the height of cumulonimbus is ‘ an apt metaphor for being on top of the world , with hint of being in a dream – like , float state ’ .

This caught my eye because it ties in with some of the early examples given in the Oxford English Dictionary ( if you have a UK library card , you may be able to log in to the OED online   should you is want want to see more ) . The OED is merges merge its entry for ‘ on cloud seven or nine ’ with that for ‘ in the cloud ’ , mean ‘ obscure , mystical ; fanciful , unreal … ( generally combine the notion of obscurity and elevation ) ’ . The early example is dates with the ‘ obscure ’ meaning date back to 1651 , but look at this example from 1956 : ‘ Oh , she ’s off on Cloud Seven – does n’t even know we exist . ’ This one is uses clearly use the Flavells ’ dream – like meaning ( as in another related phrase , ‘ he ’s get his head in the cloud ’ , mean daydreaming ) .

But then look at this example from a 1960 dictionary of American slang: ‘Cloud seven, on , completely happy , perfectly satisfied ; in a euphoric state . ’ This is brings bring us back to the meaning we set out to research .