Boy... cats sure know how to live the life of Riley... (life of Riley..., who is Riley and what kind of life did he live?)

My cat as of now... he is peacefully asleep on my computer chair. My cat is deaf... which I just realized a month ago. Makes for an interesting cat.


My aunt always says... "Living the life of Riley", she is here now visiting... and I finally in all my 34 years of life... asked her... "Who is Riley and what kind of life did he live?".

Now I know.

Freespirit said:

Tell me!

I wanna know who Riley is

cute cat btw

Yeah, you can't just leave us hangin'. Who IS Riley??? What's the deal with his life?

That cat looks sooo sweet!

Ok... (you two) do some research and see what you can find...

Plus... I love to watch a cat sleep.

Freespirit said:

this is what i found, i will read it later

http://www.worldwidewords...a-ril1.htm

Cute kitty!! I have 3 cats that are my fur babies.

I'm very concerned that my cat will pass away soon. She's very old now. I've never had a close attachment to a pet before so I hope I won't be too upset when her time is up.

JDINTERACTIVE said:

Awwww, I know what you mean. You get so close to a pet, especially when you have them for so many years.

AndGodCreatedMe said:

I think Riley's life was better left a mystery.

my cat ... hope

is deaf too

she has by far the most iteresting personality of any cat i have ever met

i believe it is due to not being able to hear








.
[Edited 10/8/05 14:57pm]

My cat is only deaf when she wants to be!

Terilicious said:

No, no... it does seem to be a mystery... see what you can find. There is more that correlates with this 'Riley' character. In the short time I had this morning... I came across a couple of finds.

Anyone?

By the way...















my cat, which "Lives The Life of Riley"....





















Sends his Hellos

OOOOOH! I just want to kiss his face! What a sweet lookin' kitty! He looks like he's givin' a high five!

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002.

life of Riley


A life of luxury: “Sheila found herself living the life of Riley after she won the lottery.” The expression comes from a popular song of the 1880s, “Is That Mr. Reilly?”, in which the title character describes what he would do if he suddenly became wealthy.

http://www.bartleby.com/5...riley.html

or...

WHAT IS the meaning and origin of the idiom "to live the life of Riley"?



(K. R. Manohara, Chitraguda )

When you say that somebody is "living" or "leading the life of Riley", what you are implying is that he/she is leading a very comfortable life. He/she is leading the kind of life that all of us wish we had — a life where one doesn't have to work hard, or spend sleepless nights worrying about making ends meet. When you lead the life of Riley you lead a very "cushy" life.

http://www.hindu.com/theh...010100.htm

I know a guy named Riley. He's in jail for shankin' somebody. I wouldn't wanna live his life.

Ut oh...

http://www.stonesoup.co.n...04123.html

Freespirit said:

Agreed, that is my understanding of the saying as well. My late grandmother used to say "living the life of Riley" sometimes. In fact, the man she married (my late grandfather) had the last name of Reilly.

Freespirit said:

Hi kitty! patting him gently on the head Aren't you a handsome boy.

This is what my aunt was talking about... although now I see it goes way back even before her time.

http://www.geocities.com/...riley.html

Who is Riley?
[Edited 10/8/05 16:41pm]

psychodelicide said:

Actually, the original saying was "living the life of Imago."

But then as people began to notice that "the life of Imago" simply involved starting dumbass threads on the Org it was changed to "life of Riley."

2the9s said:

I am going to research this...

2the9s said:

Seriously, I found this:

http://members.aol.com/Mo...nsData.htm

scroll down a bit...

Or this...



From here:

http://www.yaelf.com/questions.shtml

2the9s said:

I came up with this...

"THE LIFE OF RILEY"




James Whitcomb Riley. com responds to FAQ about the expression "The Life of Riley."

The expression got started in the 1880's about the time that James Whitcomb Riley started depicting the comforts of a well ordered and prosperous home life in his poems. These poems were of course very popular. He "lectured" on them in tours around the country in every city before great numbers of lyceum circuit audiences. Think of "An Old Sweetheart of Mine" who was not just a dream to the gentleman persona of the poem but who actually was the wife of the dreamer. What good luck to live in a place where dreams can be true, where homes are happy and the comforts of home life can be experienced! Why doesn't this happen to me??? We also think of Riley's poems of barefoot boys and girls on lazy summer days, etc.,etc.

Anyway, the ideal life of carefree, bountiful and yet humble lifestyle and life of "homey dream-come-true" spawned a comic song by Pat Rooney of the name "The Life of Riley" in the 1880s. The popularity of the song and the continued popularity of Riley's poems of the nature depicted reinforced each other and led to the entry of the phrase into the American vernacular. Sue Chapman.

Note: I remember a television show of this name too. Seems like it might have been in the 50's??? Editor. A boy living "The Life of Riley" is shown below.


Click on this thumbnail to bring up the enlarged scan and then click your browser's back button or arrow to return to this page. This is an example of a a book cover of one of Riley's books. They were the first in the country to use illustrations and helped make Riley's books so popular. In fact many (such as this one- where we found it) were framed and hung in front rooms at the turn of the 20th century.


http://www.jameswhitcombr..._riley.htm

The Life of Riley (The more I look the more negative it gets)

What's in a life?
Five hundred words -- more or less -- is all it takes to live the life of Riley. For a short time each week, the good life and I are thought to be one. But don't believe a word of it. While on a daily basis I may manage a rough approximation of the green left lifestyle, the good times have alluded me completely.

I think it runs in the family. We Rileys have been called but no-one so far has been chosen.

Take my great, great grandfather, Felix Riley. Born in Dublin in 1823, Felix was quite the man about town and no doubt hoped to dress the part. In search of the appropriate garb, he stole a pair of flannel drawers and a singlet. The initiative must have had sartorial impact, because he soon left on an overseas cruise, compliments of her majesty's government.

Felix was sentenced to seven years' transportation. His future wife got 10 years for stealing a pair of stockings and a silver spoon.

And thus, we Rileys arrived down under.

Some didn't make it. The mums and dads of a few twigs to our family tree starved to death during the Irish famine, and their offspring arrived in Australia as orphans.

Such is the luck of the Irish that I now enjoy three square meals a day and have lived a life free of incarceration. This Riley's gone straight. You won't catch me thieving like my forebears.

And I'm famous. You wouldn't believe the number of people who say: “Green Left Weekly? Isn't that the publication Dave Riley writes for?” There are people out there who buy it on that basis alone! All of them relatives.

Come each Christmas, Aunt Mary gives me a hug and inevitably says: “What a life you lead!” And I retort: “'Tis the life of Riley.” We giggle and guffaw some, but really it's all show. Living the life of Riley isn't all that it's cracked up to be.

In fact, the name this column goes by is really a sick joke. To tell you the truth, I'm not living it up at all. Oh, I pretend to. I throw back the slops and gnaw on the odd chicken leg, but really, compared to some others, all I can manage is to keep my head above water.

So when you read anything I have to say, be sure to take it with a grain of salt. Living the life of Riley -- in the euphemistic sense -- is something I don't do very well at all. But the green left lifestyle is something else again.

My week beats regular to the rhythm of Green Left Weekly, and it has done so for all of its 300 issues. While I may have notched up only a few years as columnist, you'd be surprised how many ways this mother can take you to her bosom. So now that the old girl has reached such an age, let's do right by her:

“Ladies and gentlemen charge your glasses and be upstanding. I give you the Green Left. Long may she reign over us!”

Then you say: Here! Here! (And give us a donation ...)

Dave Riley

2the9s said:

which is all the time, i bet... mine is, too.