Life of Riley (1918)

[Dave Wilton]

OED has 1919.

The Syracuse Herald, 29 July 1918, final page, (a soldier named Kennedy
writing about life in the Army), in Newspaperarchive.com:

"This is surely one great life," writes Kennedy. "We call it the life of
Riley. We are having fine eats, are in a great detachment and the experience
one gets is fine. I must say I enjoy it immensely. It sure has some
advantages over the undertaking business."

Note that this predates the 1919 song by H. Pease that is suggested as the
origin of the phrase. It's also interesting in that it is spelled "Riley"
and not "Reilly," which is normally considered to be the original form.

--Dave Wilton
  dave at wilton.net

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