In clover is an idiom with roots in the practice of agriculture. We will examine the meaning of the idiom in clover, where it came from, and some examples of its use in sentences.
In clover means to be in a good situation, to to be in a situation of great comfort, to be in a place in life where one needn’t worry about the future. Someone who is in clover has all his basic needs met and has resources to enjoy extra entertainment or comforts. The idiom in clover carries a connotation that the person has moved from a more precarious state to being in clover. The idiom in clover goes back at least to the 1700s and is based upon the fact that cattle enjoy eating clover over other vegetation. A happy cow is in clover.
Examples
Smith was in clover as England forgot one of the basics: that even the great batsmen, a category in which Smith obviously belongs, do not like being tied down and compelled to work for their runs. (The Guardian)
When Trevor Rose, a design engineer in the oil industry, moved to Scotland from the south of England in 2000 he was in clover as far as reptiles and amphibians were concerned. (The Scottish Field Magazine)
They were in clover when Rick was a ’50s TV star, on a western series with a jaunty horse-trot of a title, “Bounty Law.” (Time Magazine)
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