eat high off the hog
To prosper or otherwise live very well. It refers to the rich being able to afford the choicest cut of meat, which, from a pig, is higher up on the animal. They've been eating high off the hog ever since David won the lottery. It must be a shock for them having to count their pennies like this—they're used to eating high off the hog, after all. Man, before the stock market crash, we could eat high off the hog, no problem.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
high off the hog, eat
Also, live high on the hog. Prosper, live luxuriously, as in When Aunt Ida dies and they inherit her estate, they'll be eating high off the hog, or Since their loan was approved, they've been living high on the hog. It alludes to the choicest cuts of meat, which are found on a pig's upper flanks. [Late 1800s]
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.