rich
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
get-rich-quick
(used as a modifier before a noun) Of or characterized by generating a large sum of money quickly and (typically) without requiring much effort or energy. Jenny's always coming up with some get-rich-quick scheme to lift us out of this dinky little town. Always be wary of anyone who tries to sell you some get-rich-quick idea—usually the only person getting rich is the salesman.
rich seam
A multifaceted topic that provides a lot of interesting material for discussion or writing. Judy's childhood experiences were a rich seam for her as she wrote her first novel.
be (all) part of life's rich pageant
A phrase that encourages acceptance of the unenjoyable things that happen in life. Nobody likes dealing with car problems, but they're just part of life's rich pageant, unfortunately. The tantrums of toddlerhood are all part of life's rich pageant.
be (all) part of life's rich tapestry
A phrase that encourages acceptance of the unenjoyable things that happen in life. Nobody likes dealing with car problems, but they're just part of life's rich tapestry, unfortunately. The tantrums of toddlerhood are all part of life's rich tapestry.
That's rich!
That's not a fair criticism or statement, considering who is saying it. You think I'm flaky? That's rich, considering you didn't show up either.
filthy lucre
money. I sure could use a little of that filthy lucre. I don't want to touch any of your filthy lucre.
See also: filthy
filthy rich
1. Fig. very wealthy. I wouldn't mind being filthy rich. There are too many filthy rich people now.
2. Fig. people who are very wealthy. The filthy rich can afford that kind of thing, but I can't. I sort of feel sorry for the filthy rich.
It is better to be born lucky than rich.
Prov. If you are born rich, you may lose your money, but if you are born lucky, you will always get what you need or want just by chance. Maybe your family doesn't have a lot of money, but you are lucky, you know. And it's better to be born lucky than rich.
one law for the rich and another for the poor
Prov. Rich people are sometimes able to escape without punishment when they commit crimes, while poor people are usually punished. It doesn't seem fair—rich people can avoid paying their taxes and not get in trouble, but poor people are always punished if they don't pay. We shouldn't have one law for the rich and another for the poor.
rich in something
having valuable resources, characteristics, traditions, or history. The entire region is rich in historical churches. Our soil is rich in important nutrients.
See also: rich
rich man's joke is always funny
Prov. Everyone wants to curry favor with rich people and so will always laugh at their jokes. (From a poem by Thomas Edward Brown.) We all thought that Mr. Lisle was a narrow-minded, unpleasant old man, but we were careful to act otherwise, because he was wealthy. A rich man's joke is always funny.
rich with something
having a lot of something; abundant in something. The beautiful book was rich with color illustrations. The old town was rich with elegant Victorian houses.
See also: rich
stinking rich
Fig. very rich. I'd like to be stinking rich for the rest of my life. Tiffany is stinking rich, and she acts like it.
strike it rich
to acquire wealth suddenly. If I could strike it rich, I wouldn't have to work anymore. Sally ordered a dozen oysters and found a huge pearl in one of them. She struck it rich!
too rich for someone's blood
1. too expensive for one's budget. This hotel is too rich for my blood. Europe is getting too rich for our blood.
2. too high in fat content for one's diet. This dessert is too rich for my blood. Most ice cream is too rich for my blood.
filthy lucre
Money; originally, money obtained dishonestly. For example, She didn't like the job but loved the filthy lucre in the form of her weekly paycheck. This term comes from the Bible (Titus 1:11), where it refers to those who teach wrongly for the sake of money. In time it came to be used loosely, and usually jokingly, for money in general, and in the mid-1900s gave rise to the jocular slang term the filthy for "money." Although both versions may be dying out, the expression filthy rich, for "extremely wealthy," survives.
See also: filthy
rich as Croesus
Very wealthy, as in They're rich as Croesus, with their penthouse, yacht, and horses. This term alludes to Croesus, the legendary King of Lydia and supposedly the richest man on earth. The simile was first recorded in English in 1577.
strike it rich
Also, strike oil or strike it lucky. Experience sudden financial success, as in He never dreamed that he'd strike it rich this soon, or They really struck oil with that investment, or One of these days we'll strike it lucky. The first of these idioms originated in mining, where it referred to finding a rich mineral deposit. [Colloquial; second half of 1800s]
a bit rich
INFORMALIf you say that someone's criticism is a bit rich, you mean that they themselves are guilty of the same fault. Gil says that women can't keep secrets. That's a bit rich, coming from him.
rich as Croesus
BRITISH, OLD-FASHIONEDIf someone is as rich as Croesus, they are very rich. He's as rich as Croesus, and getting richer all the time. Note: Croesus was the ruler of Lydia, a kingdom in Asia Minor, in the 6th century BC. He was famous for being very rich.
strike it rich
If you strike it rich, you suddenly earn or win a large amount of money. He struck it rich with his first novel. Commerce seems to offer graduates more opportunities to strike it rich.
filthy lucre
(...ˈlukɚ) n. money. I sure could use a little of that filthy lucre.
See also: filthy
filthy rich
1. mod. very wealthy. I wouldn’t mind being filthy rich.
2. n. people who are very wealthy. The filthy rich can afford that kind of thing, but I can’t.
stinking rich
mod. very rich. I’d like to be stinking rich for the rest of my life.
strike it rich
tv. to become rich suddenly. Pete is the kind of guy who wants to strike it rich and live in the lap of luxury for the rest of his life.
too rich for someone’s blood
1. mod. too expensive for one’s budget. Europe is getting too rich for our blood.
2. mod. too high in fat content for one’s diet. Most ice cream is too rich for my blood.
strike it rich
Informal To have sudden financial success.
poor little rich girl
Unhappy heiress. In contrast to Job's turkey, the subject of this phrase wants for nothing—except emotional support. The original “poor little rich girl” was socialite Barbara Hutton, heiress to the Woolworth (“Five and Dime” stores) and E. F. Hutton investment banking fortunes. She had a lonely childhood, seven failed— and in many cases, exploitive—marriages, and died a broken (and nearly broke) woman at age sixty-six. The phrase has been applied to other women whose lives were sad in spite (or perhaps because of inherited wealth).
rich beyond the dream of avarice
Wealthy beyond imagination. “Avarice” means “greedy,” so to be rich beyond the dream of avarice is to have more money than even a Scrooge McDuck or Charles Montgomery Burns nocturnal fantasy. The phrase can be traced back to two 18th-century writers, the redoubtable Samuel Johnson and the lesser-known Edward Moore.