life of Riley

American  

noun

Informal.

1. a carefree, comfortable, and thoroughly enjoyable way of living.

   Since winning the lottery, he's led the life of Riley.

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life of Riley Cultural  

1. A life of luxury: “Sheila found herself living the life of Riley after she won the lottery.” The expression comes from a popular song of the 1880s, “Is That Mr. Reilly?”, in which the title character describes what he would do if he suddenly became wealthy.

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life of Riley Idioms  

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of life of Riley

First recorded in 1920–25; perhaps after the Reilly mentioned in various songs popular around 1900, as “The Best of the House Is None Too Good for Reilly”

Example Sentences

USC put its coaching search into overdrive, from 0 to 60 in nothing flat, swapping out a clunky old jalopy for a shiny turbocharged Lincoln, and now the Trojans are living the life of Riley.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2021

The fiddle player’s fingers live the life of Riley.

From New York Times • Oct. 15, 2018

"It was a huge amount of money at that time and it was burning a hole in his pocket. Most of us would think, 'Let's retire and live the life of Riley'."

From BBC • Sep. 8, 2018

In the meantime, the life of Riley is a simple one.

From The Guardian • Aug. 20, 2017

One could hardly say that he was born with a golden spoon in his mouth, for "Barney" Moran had anything but the "life of Riley" in his early years.

From Reno — a Book of Short Stories and Information by Stratton, Lilyan