tickled pink

Idioms  

1. Also, tickled to death. Delighted, as in I was tickled pink when I got his autograph, or His parents were tickled to death when he decided to marry her. The first term, first recorded in 1922, alludes to one's face turning pink with laughter when one is being tickled. The variant, clearly a hyperbole, dates from about 1800.

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Example Sentences

Mind you, the cinemagoers I speak to are tickled pink that Barbie's hit the big screen here.

From BBC • Sep. 28, 2023

“I didn’t realize my obsession was on trend,” says Marler, who was tickled pink by the news.

From Washington Post • Aug. 10, 2022

“She would shift a shoulder, settle her mouth, change behind the eyes. And some deep, daughterly part of me was tickled pink by it.”

From New York Times • Mar. 3, 2020

And the family is pretty sure that somewhere, Angelo is tickled pink to know that the long-time family business is up and running once again.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 17, 2018

Well, he may not have wanted me to marry Jimmie, but he was tickled pink at the idea that I was carrying Jimmie’s child and that he was about to become a grandfather.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson