Chrysti The Wordsmith: Cloud Nine

Greetings This is Christie the wordsmith to be on cloud nine is to experience feelings of blissful sublime happiness though this idiomatic expression is of recent vintage dating to the mid 20th century. It's source like the state of happiness itself is elusive. The expression has shown some numerical variability throughout the decades with clouds 7 or 8 sometimes cited as the height of happiness. The former possibly influenced by the phrase seventh heaven but cloud nine remains the arithmetical favorite perhaps from the U.S. Weather Bureau's arranging cloud formations in numerical sequence with Level 9 clouds. The cumulonimbus riding the skies at 40000 feet. Someone sitting atop such a towering below a cloud nine would be at the apex of creation. Another account evokes the mystical quality of the number nine the sum of a trinity of trinities or three three pair the image of heavenly Evanescence and

elevation with the perfect number and cloud nine becomes the abode of absolute bliss. The number occurs in at least three other cliches of uncertain origin dressed to the nines the whole nine yards and a cat has nine lives. I'm Christie the wordsmith Stuart Weber is the composer and performer of the musical theme for the series. If you'd like to hear more of his music you can link to his website on mine. Wordsmith radio dot org. CHRISTIE The wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry. Zoot web dot com.