"tickled pink"

Posted by ESC on March 01, 2003

In Reply to: "Tickled pink" posted by mose on February 28, 2003

: : : I was trying to find out where the term "tickled pink" came from. can anyone help?

: : A guess. When someone is truly tickled they tend to go red/pink in the face. They have been 'tickled pink'. This often gives great pleasure to the person tickled (at least to my grandchildren!). Thus, by extension, any pleasure may be described as causing someone to be 'tickled pink'.

: as with most of the fun sayings there is a literal sense to everything. i guess I was hoping for a deeper meaning. oh well!! thanks!

TICKLED PINK -- "...A tickled person will often be red in the face from laughing." From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable revised by Adrian Room (HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 1999, Sixteenth Edition).

On the other hand, remember the discussion about "in the pink"? From the archives:

In the pink signifies a state of well being; good health. The pink here has nothing to do with colour, rather with the same source as pinking scissors. They are both based on the old English pynca meaning "point", hence "peak" or "apex". Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet (II, iv) speaks of "the pink of courtesy".

• "Tickled pink"/"in the pink" Cindy Sue, FavoriteWebsite 03/01/03
  • "tickled pink"/"in the pink" ESC 03/01/03

See also - the meaning and origin of Tickled pink.