the life of Riley

the life of Riley

A life of great ease, comfort, or luxury, used especially in the phrase "lead/live the life of Riley." The phrase is likely of early 20th-century Irish-American origin, but to whom Riley refers is uncertain. Pampered from a young age after his father came into sudden wealth, Jonathan led the life of Riley compared to the hardships his older siblings faced.
See also: life, of, riley
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

life of Riley

Also, life of Reilly. An easy life, as in Peter had enough money to take off the rest of the year and live the life of Riley. This phrase originated in a popular song of the 1880s, "Is That Mr. Reilly?" by Pat Rooney, which described what its hero would do if he suddenly came into a fortune.
See also: life, of, riley
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

the life of Riley (or Reilly)

a luxurious or carefree existence. informal
Reilly or Riley is a common Irish surname. A popular song of the early 20th century entitled ‘My Name is Kelly’ included the lines ‘Faith and my name is Kelly Michael Kelly , But I'm living the life of Reilly just the same’. This may be the source of the expression but it is possible that the songwriter, H. Pease, was drawing on an already existing catchphrase.
1978 Daily Telegraph It is simply not true that we don't pay tax and are living the life of Riley.
See also: life, of, riley
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

the life of Riley

Informal
An easy life.
See also: life, of, riley
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.

the life of Riley

A life of ease. Although linguistic history fails to reveal who the eponymous Mr. Reilly was, the phrase was traced to the mid-19th century's Irish immigration to the United States. The phrase was used in popular songs and on the stage, and was most recently used as the title of a very successful radio program and later television series starring William Bendix as Chester A. Riley, whose signature comment, “What a revoltin' development this is,” became a popular expression during the mid-20th century.
See also: life, of, riley
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
See also:
  • life of Riley
  • the life of Reilly
  • 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 Riley is happy, but she's fed up with the implied criticism from people for being unembarrassedly single, or of getting their sympathy for her single state.
Books: ROMANTIC FICTION; Not Married, Not Bothered by Carol Clewlow (HarperCollins, pounds 6.99)
I know you think I have the life of Riley, and I'm certainly not complaining, but just to give you an idea of the schedule that sometimes wrecks my body clock, last Friday night I commentated on Porto v Valencia in the European Super Cup Final in Monte Carlo.
monte carlo to middlesbrough
All of this obsession, this fixation, about people having the life of Riley here, it's utter nonsense.''
Junket claims utter nonsense, says Meacher
Doubtless she will be reinvented as the Duchess of Amalfi, and given a couple of million quid of taxpayers' money and a lifetime's anonymity so she can live the life of Riley on the Riviera.
Man of the People: Think about James' life
These feckless, work-shy parasites are living the life of Riley, courtesy of the hard-working British taxpayer and they do it because they can.
Comment of the Day
The ones you say live the life of Riley are the ones that don'twork and have no intention ofworking.
We paid our way; You Say Email:letters@liverpoolecho.co.uk uk
THE LIFE OF RILEY (Wednesday, BBC1, 7.30pm) is the first episode of a second series of the family sitcom starring Caroline Quentin as Maddy Riley.
WeekAhead
Anybody who thinks footballers have the life of Riley should check out Barton's latest admission.
Barton puts the hours in
In the life of Riley two people play a significant role ( Phil Sharpe and Glenn Turner.
Leeds ref hoping to enjoy life of Riley!
He told The Times: "People need to appreciate that you can't work from 25 to 55 and then live the life of Riley to 95.
Retirement age should be raised to 70
"Stan owns Newcastle and has horses with me, and the owners of this horse, the Life Of Riley Partnership, know him well as they are also in property.
Newton Abbot: Mann enjoys Life Of Riley
Seven years is a long time to be miserable while this other guy is living the life of Riley.
Life over after partner dumped me for money; Dear Coleen THE STRAIGHT.TALKING PROBLEM PAGE
Q WHERE does the expression "the life of Riley" come from?
Question Time; your letters
He may have steered the bank on to the rocks and helped trigger the worst economic crisis in memory, but Sir Fred continues to live the life of Riley.
Royal Bank of scot free.