Search results
The phrase came into common usage around the time of WWI. The first printed citation of ‘the life of Riley’ (with the easy/carefree meaning of the phrase) that I have found is from New Jersey newspaper The News, May 1910: Henry Mungersdorf is living the life of Riley just at present. Quotation marks are usually added to phrases that the ...
Origin of “The Life of Riley”. The phrase “life of a riley” was first used in the New Jersey newspaper, The News, published in 1910, where it is stated as; “Henry Mungersdorf is living the life of Riley just at present.”. Later, it was used by Sergeant Leonard in an extract, published in 1918, where he wrote, “that he and his pals ...
Oxford English Dictionary now only recognizes Riley in living the life of Riley. During World War I, it spread across American training camps as British soldiers wrote home using the phrase. By the 1940, the term living the life of Riley was popular enough to be used as the title of the comedy series The Life of Riley. It was initially a ...
Aug 8, 2022 · “Life of Riley” became a title for a radio series in the 1940’s and a television comedy series in the 1950’s. Since then, countless movies, songs and albums have been named “Life of Riley”, with recent examples appearing in the 2010’s as well. “Life of Riley” was first defined on Urban Dictionary on July 8 th, 2014.
Dec 22, 1999 · William and Mary Morris’ Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins says: There are several theories of the origin of this popular catch phrase which means, of course, to live luxuriously without working. One authority says it comes from a song of the 1880s, “Is that Mr Reilly?” popularized by Pat Rooney, founder of the great American ...
Oct 22, 2011 · Idiom language: English. Etymology: Originated in the US c. 1902 (using the spelling "Reilly"). Popularized during World War I. Earlier origin unknown; various theories exist.DetailsPopularized in and immediately after World War I in both Britain and America, due to troops mixing in wartime.
Apr 9, 2021 · 9 April 2021. To live the life of Riley (or Reilly) is to have a carefree and luxurious existence. But the Riley to which the phrase refers is a bit of mystery. We don’t know who he was or if it even refers to a specific person. There is one candidate who stands out from the rest, but his connection to the phrase is tenuous.
People also ask
When did living the life of Riley become popular?
What does life of a Riley mean?
Where did the phrase 'the life of Riley' come from?
Where did the phrase “life of a Reilly” come from?
When did Riley come to America?
Who wrote Life of Riley?
