An eager beaver is someone who takes on work with great enthusiasm, often more than is needed. The image is a busy, hard-working beaver. It can be approval or gentle mockery of someone who tries too hard: arrives before everyone else, asks for extra tasks, answers emails at six in the morning. Whether it's praise or a dig depends on the situation and the tone of voice.
When would you say eager beaver?
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be an eager beaver; a bit of an eager beaver; such an eager beaver; the eager beaver who + verb
- Sam is a real eager beaver: he answers work emails at six in the morning.
- Don't be such an eager beaver, the exam is in three months, not tomorrow.
- Our new intern is a bit of an eager beaver and asks for extra tasks every day.
What changed
First versionTom came to the office at seven again. He is such eager beaver.
RevisionTom came to the office at seven again. He is such an eager beaver.
Eager beaver is an ordinary countable noun, so in the singular it needs an article. The article stays after such too: such an eager beaver. Without an, the sentence sounds broken.
If you want to praise someone without any irony, say go-getter: She's a real go-getter, meaning a determined person who gets what they want. Busy as a bee simply means very busy, with no judgement about enthusiasm: I've been busy as a bee all week. In an essay, enthusiastic or hard-working are more neutral.
Your turn
Anna volunteered for three extra projects in her first week at the company. She's a real ___.
Show the answer
eager beaver — In her very first week, Anna took on three extra projects, which is exactly the zeal of an eager beaver. A couch potato is someone who lies around watching TV, the complete opposite of how she behaves.
Describe a colleague or classmate who tries too hard. Say what exactly they do beyond what's needed.
My classmate Igor is an eager beaver: he reads every chapter twice and writes extra essays nobody asked for.
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