This phrase is pretty common, at least where I come from: in positive situations, one might say, “I’m a happy camper.” To describe someone’s disappointment, one might say, “He was not a happy camper.”
So where did this phrase come from? Obviously I know what it means literally, but why a “camper”? Why not a “happy hiker” or a “happy baker” or something else? Is there significance or a reason for the “camper” reference?
Thanks!
I associate it with Butlins, the chain of holiday camps in the UK.
Actually I associate it with a TV show parodying same, but no matter.
Maybe it’s because camping necessarily involves some adjustment to changes in your normal routine, and the lack of ordinary luxuries. The phrase, therefore, implies to me the ability to cheerfully adjust to changing conditions.
nineiron , I also wondered about this phrase - even did a web search on it a couple of years ago - with no luck. And I don’t know about you , but the responses given so far don’t satisfy my curiosity as to why the phrase became so widely used.
I wouldn’t say “unsatisfied,” but I wonder if there’s a more definitive answer. I almost wonder if it did start as a slogan for some camp, as Iteki suggested. (“We’re all a bunch of happy campers at Camp Hiawatha.”) I don’t know how far it goes back, though; since I’ve never heard of Butlins, I don’t know if they started it, or just continued using a phrase that already existed.
I think Iteki is right - the Butlins family holiday camps in the UK (and quite possibly others like that) are staffed by helpers (‘redcoats’ in the case of Butlins) - it is the job of the Redcoats to ensure that everyone joins in and has a good time and they have (historically) something of a reputation for achieving this end by strong coercion, but they have to remain completely civil toward the campers at all times.
“Oh dear, we aren’t a happy camper, are we” is about the worst they could say, when in reality they would have liked to insult or berate the customer who is reluctant to join in.
The UK sitcom Hi-De-Hi isn’t really contemporary with the culture that I’m describing, but it does portray it quite accurately (well, sort of).
My $0.02 would be the negative evolved 1st, since an unhappy camper is miserable, there is really no slightly unhappy campers.