Meaning
In an affluent or luxurious manner, with access to expensive comforts. Informal and chiefly American.
Origin
The American expression is documented in the early 20th century. A 1919 Kansas City Times example refers to eating farther up on the hog, and a 1920 New York Times report explicitly contrasts costlier pork chops and ham with cheaper food. This supports an association with desirable cuts from the upper part of a pig, although older uses of 'live high' also helped make the luxury sense intelligible. The story that dominant piglets obtained richer milk from a sow's upper teats appeared much later and is not supported as the phrase's origin.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- Eat high on the hog
- High off the hog
- Live high off the hog
Usage Examples
- The company lived high on the hog during the boom and struggled when orders fell.
- After years of saving, they spent one weekend high on the hog at a coastal hotel.
- The leaked accounts showed executives travelling high on the hog while wages were frozen.