high off the hog, to eat/live

To prosper or otherwise live very well. It refers to the rich being able to afford the choicest cut of meat, which, from a pig, is higher up on the animal. They've been eating high off the hog ever since David won the lottery. It must be a shock for them having to count their pennies like this—they're used to eating high off the hog, after all.

To prosper or otherwise live very well. It refers to the rich being able to afford the choicest cut of meat, which, from a pig, is higher up on the animal. They've been living high off the hog ever since David won the lottery. It must be a shock for them having to count their pennies like this—they're used to living high off the hog, after all.

Rur. to live well and eat good food. (Note the variation with pretty.) After they discovered oil on their land, they lived pretty high on the hog. Looks like we're living high off the hog tonight. What's the occasion?

To live well; to prosper. This term comes from the practice of the choicest cuts for ham and bacon being taken from high up on the pig’s side. It originated in the American South in the nineteenth century and became extremely common in the mid-twentieth century. It is sometimes put as eating high on the hog.