Marie-Claire from Montreal, Canada, wonders why we say that someone living in carefree luxury is living the life of Riley. No one’s sure this expression’s origin, although it may be associated with a 19th-century vaudeville song about an innkeeper who dreams of being a hotel owner. The phrase was widely circulated during World War I, and further popularized by the 1940s radio program The Life of Riley starring William Bendix, also adapted into a television show and a comic book. This is part of a complete episode.
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