bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

Energetic and enthusiastic. After that nap, I am bright-eyed and bushy-tailed! As usual, the new interns are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed—just watching them is exhausting.
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Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

Fig. awake and alert. (Often used ironically, as in the first example. The idea is that one is like a frisky animal, such as a squirrel.) Jill: Hi, Jane! How are you on this beautiful morning? Jane: Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, just as you might expect, since I've only had three hours of sleep. Despite the early hour, Dennis was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
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McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

Eager and alert, as in Here is my new kindergarten class, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. The allusion here is to the appearance of a squirrel, which with its beady eyes and bushy tail looks ready for anything. [1930s]
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

If someone is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, they are healthy and full of energy. But for now, go and sleep awhile. I need you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow. This will be a busy year, so you need to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to cope. Note: The comparison in this expression is to a squirrel.
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Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

alert and lively; eager. informal
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Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

ˌbright-eyed and ˌbushy-ˈtailed

(informal) lively and cheerful; pleased and proud: She came in to see me, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and announced she was leaving the next day.
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Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

mod. alert and ready to do something; as alert and as active as a squirrel. You look all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning.
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McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

Lively and perky, energetic and enthusiastic. The expression is American in origin and undoubtedly comes from anthropomorphizing the squirrel, with its beady eyes and upright bushy tail. It dates from about 1930.
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The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
  • bushy
  • eyed
  • tail
  • bright as a button
  • (as) bright as a button
  • as bright as a button
  • bright
  • bright and breezy
  • be bright and breezy
References in periodicals archive
With Ulster's Celtic League bash and the Halloween celebrations tonight, Gordons Chemists are issuing a potion which will ensure fans can rise bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning.
Rugby World Cup 2003: It's a good idea to Choke before watching big game
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, with that lovely, shiny bob, your mum would have loved her.
Star challenge: Is a change as good as a rest? Yes... and no; Two celebs demonstrate how an image overhaul can leave you looking like a vision of loveliness or a right banana
He had to be up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed today.
Ollie's big night is a Dee-light; Reed all about his pub exploits
Why would anyone want to look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed?
SAD STEVE A MAN IN TORMENT; STEVE RICHES is the saddest bloke in Britain, the man who spends all his time worrying about the impossible, conjuring up questions for which there's no answer. Can YOU help him out?
BRIGHT-EYED and bushy-tailed, Toxic singer Britney Spears looks pretty ranchy in a cowboy hat and blue tutu in these snaps for new album Blackout.
3AM: BOYCOTT BRIT
Yet I can turn up at 9am bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after having been stuck in traffic for a couple of hours.
Computers kick out the jams; KING OF THE ROAD
But at 6am Sienna was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as she emerged from her room in a new outfit and headed to the set of movie The Mysteries of Pittsburgh.
How to look fab after 3 hours kip, by Sienna
And Christopher "not-so" Biggins may have lost more weight in a fortnight on the show than most people manage in an entire series of Celebrity Fit Club, but it's Ant and Dec who really deserve the plaudits for being so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at the crack of dawn.
We love telly: CELEB'S BIGG FINALE - Pick of the day I'M A CELEBRITY... GET ME OUT OF HERE! ITV1, 9pm
The 6ft stunner was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed modelling in the Patrick Thomson Show at London's Brick House.
MOVE OVER BRITNEY
But Rory appeared bright-eyed and bushy-tailed yesterday morning after his wild night on the town.
GREAT SHOT RORY; Jager bombs drown golf star's Masters sorrows on a night out with the lads
COACH Ian Smith is hoping that the festive break sees Moseley return to the fray tomorrow bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with batteries recharged and eager for battle.
Rugby: Moseley focus on Stour test; RUGBY UNION Coach hopes team return to winning ways after break
Carol, who attended the party and film at the Odeon with her three children, Christie, nine, Robbie, six, and Jodie, four, looked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at the soiree.
It's cool for Cats
Every morning he comes into the make-up trailer at 6.30 he's singing country songs, I'm still waking up and he's bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.''
WEEKEND: TV; Shaking off that child star status
"I had huge amounts of time off sick, my eyesight was worsening and I began to lose the feeling in my hands and feet, but as soon as I got the pump I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. It felt like I had woken up and I had my life back.
How Jeni got her life back; Grateful diabetes patient walks for charity
"The other day was the first day in ages I didn't have a drink, and the next day I was like a little baby squirrel, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed."
the Razz: AMY'S BOOZE SHOCK; Wild child Winehouse drinks 'to get through the day'