Idiom
high on the hog
Meaning
Well off; living comfortably or extravagantly due to great wealth or financial security.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“They lived high on the hog after winning the lottery.”
“He lives high on the hog since he got that big promotion.”
“After years of struggle, the retired couple finally lived high on the hog, traveling and dining out whenever they pleased.”
“The corporate executives are living high on the hog while the factory workers haven't received a pay raise in over five years.”
“The tech entrepreneurs, suddenly flush with venture capital, lived high on the hog in their penthouse apartments, seemingly oblivious to how quickly fortunes could turn.”
Examples
simple
“They lived high on the hog after winning the lottery.”
“He lives high on the hog since he got that big promotion.”
contextual
“After years of struggle, the retired couple finally lived high on the hog, traveling and dining out whenever they pleased.”
“The corporate executives are living high on the hog while the factory workers haven't received a pay raise in over five years.”
complex
“The tech entrepreneurs, suddenly flush with venture capital, lived high on the hog in their penthouse apartments, seemingly oblivious to how quickly fortunes could turn.”
Origin
An allusion to the best and costliest cuts of meat from a hog, considered to be parts above the belly such as the loin, rather than lower parts such as the feet, knuckles, hocks, belly, and jowls. US, late 1800s; popularized 1940s. The variant forms – live/eat and on/off – are attested since at least the 1930s. However, decades earlier is the phrase on the hog, originally on the hog train meaning someone living on little expense.
Key words
Related idioms
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