this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2025
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Even with those small percentages, 'free as a bird' was twice as common.
Exactly, only twice as common. To put in other words: For every two times someone says "free as a bird", one person says "happy as a clam".
That is much narrower than the gap between something commonly said and something rarely said.
Again, "happy as a clam" is very informal. "Free as a bird" is much less so, so it makes sense it pops up more often in literature.
Also more poetic, shows up in poetry and song lyrics, pre-written spreches, etc.
It's also been used much longer. First known use of "happy as as a clam" was 1833 versus "free as a bird" being used in the 17th century.