the life of Reilly

the life of Reilly

A life of great ease, comfort, or luxury, used especially in the phrase "lead/live the life of Reilly." The phrase is likely of early 20th-century Irish-American origin, but to whom Reilly refers is uncertain. Pampered from a young age after his father came into sudden wealth, Jonathan led the life of Reilly compared to the hardships his older siblings faced.
See also: life, of, Reilly
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • life of Riley
  • the life of Riley
  • so is life
  • live a life of
  • live a life of (something)
  • soft life
  • lead a life of (something)
  • cannot for the life of me/him/her/us/them
  • can't for the life of me
  • life
References in periodicals archive
The Life of Reilly is the story of a young autistic boy and his family's experiences of coping with the highs and lows of the condition.
The Life of Reilly team THREE teenage actresses from the North East have swapped their school summer holidays to tread the boards at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
THE LIFE OF REILLY Martin Reilly celebrates after netting what was a very dubious penalty, inset
Never Satisfied LIVIN' on a penshun It's not much of a do The dough's not fit to menshun The time 'angs 'eavy too Yer'll live the life of Reilly The politicians said Don't think much uv Reilly If that's the life 'e led My pants 'r on the slack side The Scouse is blind these days Sittin' on yer backside Ain't a job wot pays The missis gets 'er 'ur done On Mondees arr 'arf price There's passes for the buses Irr all sounds very nice Burr-d sooner 'ave the ackers A'd do without each perk Ter be back with me wackers Grumbling about werk by the late Stella Blainey
Jes Rust the University of Bonn said that the parasite lived the life of Reilly, as there were many salamanders in the lakes, as fossil finds at the same location near Ningcheng in Inner Mongolia (China) have shown.
SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP GAA: LEINSTER SEN FOOTBALL CHAMPIO FINAL Meat o Dublin v Meath Croke Park, 2pm, Live on TV3 MEATH are enjoying the of Reilly so far this summeATH are enjoying the life of Reilly so far this summer.
Burden "He's living the life of Reilly behind bars and is sticking his fingers up at everyone.
Does he really think that people live the life of Reilly on benefits?
Infused with an adolescent streak that revels in its R rating and never seems to tire of puns derived from Dewey's last name, the pic dutifully chronicles the life of Reilly's Cox from well-telegraphed boyhood tragedy to unexpected stardom to drug abuse, despite half-hearted "You don't want to try this" warnings from band member Sam (Tim Meadows).
But when I read the revelations from Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, that he had sleepless nights in his battle to make the Gunners great again, I thought to myself, what a lovely way to lose sleep: handling top class players, spending money and living the life of Reilly.
There was me thinking they had the life of Reilly when, in actual fact, some are living a life of hell, dashing round the high street bookies in a vain
The pampered one-tonne bull, which has sired 220 daughters to date, lives the life of Reilly at the Cogent farm on the Duke of Westminster's Cheshire estate.
The pampered one-tonne bull, who has sired 220 daughters to date, lives the life of Reilly at the Cogent farm which lies on Duke of Westminster's Cheshire estate.
You don't have to work and you can live the life of Reilly and shop every day.
Reilly's way of doing it brings him to his latest work, Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly, which opens off-Broadway at New York's Irish Repertory Theatre on October 7 following several successful regional runs, with an eye toward Broadway.