# What does ‘full of beans’ mean?

To “full of beans” means to lively and energetic. A 19th-century idiom, originally applied to horses fed beans as fodder; Brewer's records the horse sense.

## What it means

- A 19th-century idiom, originally applied to horses fed beans as fodder; Brewer's records the horse sense.

## Action steps

1. Warm description of high spirits.
2. Example: The kids are full of beans this morning.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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Published: 2026-07-18T04:16:35.668981+00:00
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Last verified: 2026-07-18
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