Life of Riley (1918)

[Douglas G. Wilson]

>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.

There is also an instance from Oct. 1918 with the "Reilly" spelling, at
N'archive.

-- Doug Wilson


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