Phrase Origins: The Life of Riley

The phrase "the life of Riley" means "an easy and pleasant life." The first known written occurrence of the phrase is in December 1911 in the Connecticut newspaper, The Hartford Courant in a story about a wild cow that was shot. The writer said that the cow was living the life of Riley, but the phrase was in quotes which suggests that readers were not familiar with the phrase. However, the cow had escaped many times when people tried to shoot it and ravaged many farmers' fields.

"The life of Riley" is also mentioned in stories about the military. Soldiers said they were living "the life of Riley," when they were living well and had good food to eat.

Riley may have also been spelled Reilly or Reiley, but Riley is the one that became the most common.

It is not known of anybody with that first or last name, but it is likely that the phrase originated in Irish America.

There were many songs that mentioned a person named Riley, Reilly, or Reiley. That person always seemed to live a very good life. This is like giving any Irish person the name Paddy, Patrick, or Pat.

There was Pat Rooney's 1883 song, "Is that Mr. Riley?"and there was George Gaskin's 1897 song, "The Best in the House Is None Too Good for Reilly."

It was a common idea that an Irish man was living the high life in America in the 1900s. Eight years after the first known printing of the phrase, "the life of Riley" it showed up in a song by Howard Pease called "My Name is Kelly." It is most likely this song that made the phrase popular.

Source:

Martin, G. (n.d.). The life of Riley. The meanings and origins of sayings and phrases . Retrieved January 13, 2011, from http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/the-life-of-riley.html