Question:
What is the origin and meaning of this phrase, which first entered my
consciousness during the 1996 U. S. Presidential elections?
Any connection with:
The town of Happy Camp, California?
A place called Happy Camp in Alaska during the Yukon gold rush?
A political figure in Alaska named Camp, apparently known by the
nickname "Happy" Camp?
Answer:
- can't help with the origin, but I'll take a stab at defining it. "I was
such a happy camper" = I was in a happy, pleased and satisfied state of
mind. I have assumed, probably wrongly, that "camper" here is a child at
some sort of summer camp.
How old is this expression? I think I first became very aware of it
in the mid-1980s
-You were conscious during the last U. S. Presidential elections? It seems
my brain turns off as soon as I hear a politician start stumping.
Regardless, you asked a question. In true AUE fashion, I won't answer it,
except for the special case of happy camping clams:
http://www.word-detective.com/072999.html#clam
