Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Log in Sign Up. Save Word. Definition of life of Riley. First Known Use of life of Riley , in the meaning defined above. History and Etymology for life of Riley from the name Riley or Reilly.
Learn More About life of Riley. I heard the saying, "life of Riley" when someone was talking about my cat, and I wondered what the origin of the expression is. The only thing I can think of is that it comes from the name of someone who was pampered and lazy, a king for example. The phrase is frequently said to have originated in the words of a song, but although many songs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries feature a person called Riley or Reilly, none has been identified as furnishing a clear source for the exact phrase.
However, the supposedly historical figure of William Reilly or Riley , an Irishman who eloped with his sweetheart and was saved from execution by her declaration that she had gone with him voluntarily, featured in several popular 18th- and 19th-century ballads of which Riley and Colinband,? He has his Colleen Bawn out on a farm [etc. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group.
I liked it because it was like my life coming back together. When the father arrived at the hospital, he was told that Andrew Dossi was in surgery, but the wounds were not life-threatening.
Now, it immediately occurred to Davy that he had never in his whole life had all the plums he wanted at any one time. Dean Swift was indeed a misanthrope by theory, however he may have made exception to private life. We shall recover again some or all of the steadfastness and dignity of the old religious life. It is the dramatic impulse of childhood endeavouring to bring life into the dulness of the serious hours.
Out bespoke the noble Fox, the table he stood by, "Oh, gentlemen, consider on this extremity; To hang a man for love is a murder you may see, So spare the life of Reilly, let him leave this counterie. If you have got them Reilly, pray send them home to me. Then out spoke noble Fox, "You may let the prisoner go, The lady's oath has cleared him, as the Jury all may know She has released her own true love, she has renewed his name, May her honour bright gain high estate, and her offspring rise to fame.
This is clearly a romanticised ballad and there are several variants of it, so we need to proceed with caution. In favour of it being a true account of real events, there was a wealthy Protestant Ffolliott family living in Sligo at the end of the 18th century and also a Luke Fox, who was a magistrate in the area at that time.
There are also historical accounts of a minor landowner called Reilly, living nearby in county Sligo, who set his sights romantically on Helen Ffolliott, the daughter of the house and who was tried in the manner the song suggests. So, there's good circumstantial evidence that the major characters referred to in the ballad were real people.
Counting against the veractiy of the story is the fuzziness of the date and location. The details of the story, and of the ballad, appear in several variants. Duffy's account for instance places Reilly as living in the s, not the late 18th century. Some variation of the retelling of a romantic folk tale is to be expected in Ireland more than in most places and, all things considered I would say that the best contender we have as being first person to live 'the life of Reilly' was Willy Reilly of Sligo, Ireland.
0コメント