happy-go-lucky

Meaning

1. 1adjectivecomparable

   Cheerful and easygoing, rarely bothered by problems and not inclined to plan carefully or worry about what might go wrong.

   Grammar: Used before a noun or after a verb: a happy-go-lucky student; she is happy-go-lucky.

   Patterns

   • a happy-go-lucky person/attitude
   • be happy-go-lucky about something

   My brother is so happy-go-lucky that he booked his flight the night before leaving.

   She approached the exams with a happy-go-lucky shrug, which worried her parents.

   The band's happy-go-lucky singer smiled through the whole rainy festival.

Common combinations

happy-go-lucky attitude

His happy-go-lucky attitude made him easy to work with but hard to pin down.

happy-go-lucky type

Mia was never the serious type; she was the happy-go-lucky type.

happy-go-lucky approach

A happy-go-lucky approach to money rarely ends well.

happy-go-lucky nature

Her happy-go-lucky nature calmed the nervous new recruits.

happy-go-lucky personality

The puppy had a happy-go-lucky personality and greeted every stranger.

Synonyms and how they differ

carefree

Carefree stresses the absence of worries, while happy-go-lucky also suggests a casual, slightly unplanned way of dealing with things.

easygoing

Easygoing describes a relaxed person who is hard to upset, but it does not necessarily imply cheerfulness or ignoring the future.

cheerful

Cheerful only says someone is in good spirits and says nothing about being careless of consequences.

lighthearted

Lighthearted fits a mood or a moment, whereas happy-go-lucky describes a lasting personality.

Opposites

Word family

happy adjective

feeling pleasure or contentment

happily adverb

in a cheerful or fortunate way

happiness noun

the state of being happy

lucky adjective

having good fortune

Commonly confused: happy-go-lucky or carefree?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “happy-go-lucky”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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