happen on

[hap-uhn]

hap·pen

[hap-uhn]
verb (used without object)
1.
to take place; come to pass; occur: Something interesting is always happening in New York.
2.
to come to pass by chance; occur without apparent reason or design: Don't ask me what caused it—it just happened, that's all.
3.
to have the fortune or lot (to do or be as specified); chance: I happened to see him on the street.
4.
to befall, as to a person or thing: Something dreadful has happened to me.
5.
to meet or discover by chance (usually followed by on or upon): to happen on a clue to a mystery.
EXPAND
6.
to be, come, go, etc., casually or by chance: My friend happened along.
7.
Slang. to be very exciting or interesting: That party was happening!
COLLAPSE

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English hap(pe)nen. See hap1, -en1


1. betide. Happen, chance, occur refer to the taking place of an event. Happen, which originally denoted the taking place by hap or chance, is now the most general word for coming to pass: Something has happened. Chance suggests the accidental nature of an event: It chanced to rain that day. Occur is often interchangeable with happen, but is more formal, and is usually more specific as to time and event: His death occurred the following year.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Happen on is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
Collins
World English Dictionary
happen on or happen upon
 
vb
(intr, preposition) to find by chance: I happened upon a five-pound note lying in the street
 
happen upon or happen upon
 
vb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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