(as) happy as a prince

obsolete Very joyful and contented. Your love is enough to make me as happy as a prince. I was happy as a prince in my sitting room surrounded by my three beautiful children. I've been happy as a prince ever since we moved to the countryside.

be (as) happy as a prince

obsolete To be very joyful and contented. I would be as happy as a prince if I knew you loved me as I love you. I was happy as a prince in my sitting room surrounded by my three beautiful children. I've been happy as a prince ever since we moved to the countryside.

fit for a prince

So excellent, luxurious, or exemplary as to be worthy of someone with the highest standards (such as a prince). Whoa, look at this gorgeous suite—it's fit for a prince! This spread is a feast fit for a prince! Did you see the private plane we get to take? It's fit for a prince!

Hamlet without the prince

An event that happens despite the absence of a key player. Hamlet, the titular character of Shakespeare's play, is the prince of Denmark. The phrase originated from this very occurrence: a performance of Hamlet that took place without the actor who was to play Hamlet. Oh, we couldn't have a party without you—that would be like Hamlet without the prince! I know that having a board meeting without the chairwoman is like Hamlet without the prince, but she's ill and asked us to go on without her. A: "Why are you home so early?" B: "Because my therapist had to cancel. And therapy can't exactly go on without the therapist, ala Hamlet without the prince."

live like a king

To have a luxurious lifestyle, in which one's every need or desire is satisfied. Typically said of or by a man. The pirate retired with so many riches that he lived like a king for the rest of his years, purchasing every comfort he could imagine. The cost of living is so much lower in Spain that we could live like kings there.

See also: king, like, live

live like a prince

To have a luxurious lifestyle, in which one's every need or desire is satisfied. Typically said of or by a boy or young man. The pirate retired with so many riches that he lived like a prince for the rest of his years, purchasing every comfort he could imagine. The cost of living is so much lower in Spain that we could live like princes there.

Prince Albert

slang A genital piercing through the underside of the glans penis (the head of the penis). When he told me what a Prince Albert was, a shudder went all the way up my spine. My boyfriend really wants to get a Prince Albert for his birthday.

Prince Charming

The (hypothetical) perfect man who has all of the traits that one (usually a woman) wants in a romantic partner. I'd almost given up hope of ever finding my own Prince Charming before I met you!

prince of the blood

noun Someone, especially a male, with direct hereditary lineage to a monarch. Being a prince of the blood, he knew his actions and behavior would be scrutinized at every stage of his life. The police said they would not investigate a prince of the blood under any circumstances.

the crown prince of (something)

1. Literally, the male heir apparent to a sovereign throne. Usually capitalized as a proper title. The country is celebrating the birth of the King and Queen's son Ferdinand, the Crown Prince of Norway.

2. A boy or man who is seen as an embodiment of or luminary in his field, as due to his talent or success. The rapper has come to be known in the underground music scene as the crown prince of hip-hop.

live like a king

Also, live like a prince. Enjoy a lavish style of living, as in He spared no expense, preferring to live like a king as long as he could, or Since they got their inheritance, the Andersons are living like princes. This expression continues to be used despite the much smaller role royalty plays in the present day. [Mid-1500s]

See also: king, like, live

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

live like a king

If someone lives like a king, they have a very luxurious lifestyle. Although he lives like a king, he manages it without causing resentment. Company executives lived like kings and were paid millions of dollars each.

See also: king, like, live

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

Hamlet without the prince

a performance or event taking place without the principal actor.

The phrase comes from an account given in the Morning Post of September 1775 . The member of a theatrical company who was to play Hamlet in a production of Shakespeare's play ran off with an innkeeper's daughter before the performance; when the play was announced to the audience, they were told ‘the part of Hamlet [was] to be left out, for that night’.

prince (or princess) of the blood

a man (or woman) who is a prince (or princess) by right of their royal descent.

live like a ˈking

live in very comfortable surroundings, enjoying all the advantages of being rich: In this luxury resort, you can live like a king. ♢ One day we’ll be rich, and you and I will live like kings.

See also: king, like, live

ˌPrince ˈCharming

(usually humorous) a man who seems to be a perfect boyfriend or husband because he is attractive, kind, etc: I’m still waiting for my Prince Charming!

This expression refers to a character in fairy tales such as Cinderella.

Prince Albert

n. cannabis in general, especially marijuana sold or transported in a Prince Albert pipe tobacco can. (From the 1960s, but still heard.) Where can I get a can of Prince Albert?

live like a prince, to

To live extremely well, in lavish circumstances. This simile dates from the sixteenth century and has somehow outlived the days when royalty was preeminent in wealth and position. It is still used just as Samuel Pepys did in his Diary in 1660: “We came to Sir W. Batten’s, where he lives like a prince.”

See also: like, live, to

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References in classic literature

It was at this moment that the Invisible Prince appeared, and at the sight of the Prince of the Genii mounting into the air, holding a silken cord, he guessed instantly that he was carrying off Rosalie.

The Prince approached the altar and opened the book, which contained the names of all the lovers in the world: and in it he read that Rosalie had been carried off by the Prince of the Air to an abyss which had no entrance except the one that lay by way of the Fountain of Gold.

Now, as the Prince had not the smallest idea where this fountain was to be found, it might be thought that he was not much nearer Rosalie than before.

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But listen as he would, the prince could make neither head nor tail of it.

Prince, you are the ideal of generosity; what are other men beside yourself?

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The opinions, after the Prince had left the table, were a little divided as to what was likely to happen.

"If the Prince had never ridden before in his life, I would trust him."

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I have no ruby now," said the Prince; "my eyes are all that I have left.

"Dear Prince," said the Swallow, "I cannot do that"; and he began to weep.

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"But a very kind man, Prince," said Anna Mikhaylovna with a pathetic smile, as though she too knew that Count Rostov deserved this censure, but asked him not to be too hard on the poor old man.

He is his godson," she added, her tone suggesting that this fact ought to give Prince Vasili much satisfaction.

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It fell naturally to the Count de Guiche to make reply; not only was he the elder, but he had been presented to the prince by his father.

Louis de Bourbon, Prince de Conde, who, since the death of his father, Henri de Bourbon, was called, in accordance with the custom of that period, Monsieur le Prince, was a young man, not more than twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, with the eye of an eagle -- agl' occhi grifani, as Dante says -- aquiline nose, long, waving hair, of medium height, well formed, possessed of all the qualities essential to the successful soldier -- that is to say, the rapid glance, quick decision, fabulous courage.

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"Let me repeat to you," said Prince Michael, in his even, well- modulated tones, "that women are the natural enemies of clocks.

Prince Michael smiled his enigmatic, gentle, comprehending smile and caught the coat sleeve of the other.

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