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"tickled pink"/"in the pink"

Posted by Cindy Sue, FavoriteWebsite on March 01, 2003

In Reply to: "Tickled pink" posted by ESC on March 01, 2003

: 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".

When I hear the phrase "in the pink", I always have a visualization of pink, healthy gums as opposed to white or discolored ones. Gum color is used as a quick indicator/reflection of a human's or an animal's health. Not that it is necessarily extremely accurate, but it is definitely one method that is still used quite often.

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