bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

Idioms  

1. 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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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

I do think a lot of times female protagonists have been very young and bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and very plucky.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2024

Obviously with Marge, you can tell she’s somebody who is kind of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and finds herself in this place and hasn’t had a lot of experience.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2024

While some of us may be going into 2024 bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, Trump’s legal team seems to have spent the first week of the new year hunkered down with court filings.

From Slate ● Jan. 8, 2024

Connie Constance is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as she strolls into the BBC News offices.

From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2019

They were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and they took over.

From The Pirates of Ersatz by Kelly Freas

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Related Words

• bouncy
• bright
• bubbly
• cheerful
• cheery
• jaunty
• lively
• sunny

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