# high on the hog

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/high-on-the-hog
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

Well off; living comfortably or extravagantly due to great wealth or financial security.

## 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.

## 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.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.