| 释义 |
Riley, n. orig. U.S.|ˈraɪlɪ|
Also Reilly.
[A common Irish surname.]
In colloq. phr. the life of Riley, a comfortable, enjoyable, and carefree existence.
The phrase is freq. said to owe its origin to one of a number of late nineteenth-century songs (as, for example, in W. & M. Morris, Dict. Word & Phr. Origins (1962) 215, and S. J. Raff in Amer. Speech (1976) LI. 944 ff.) but has not been traced earlier than the song of 1919, which gave it currency.
1919H. Pease My Name is Kelly (song) 3 Faith and my name is Kelly Michael Kelly, But I'm living the life of Reilly just the same. 1923E. Rice Adding Machine vi. 85 This is the life of Riley all right. 1936H. Miller Black Spring 142 The old man's leading the life of Reilly. 1949J. B. Priestley Delight 7 The life of Reilly, which some people imagine me to lead, has been further away than a fading dream. 196020th Cent. May 387 The executive is..living the life of Riley by tax evasion and expense account. 1965J. Porter Dover Two vi. 70 The native cunning which had enabled him to live the life of Riley with no visible means of support..failed him dismally now. 1978Daily Tel. 8 Feb. 6/7 It is simply not true that we don't pay tax and are living the life of Riley. |