easy street
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See also: Easy Street
English
Etymology
From easy (“at ease, comfortable”) + street.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈiːzi ˌstɹiːt/
Audio (AU) (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˈizi ˌstɹit/
Noun
- (originally US, idiomatic, informal) Chiefly preceded by on: a carefree lifestyle or situation, especially as resulting from being wealthy.
- 1813, Financial Year Book of the Daily Commercial News, San Francisco, Calif.: Commercial News Pub. Co., →OCLC, page 55, column 2:
- Stocks are light, while packers will be able to get financial aid, which will, so far as that is concerned, place them on "easy street."
- 1890 August, Marie L Marsh, “ Jimsey’s Mascot”, in Current Literature: A Magazine of Record and Review, volume V, number 2, New York, N.Y.: The Current Literature Publishing Co., →OCLC, page 121, column 2:
- Once after this I asked the "pardners" if Jimsey's mascot was bringing him luck. / "Yes, lady," said Tom, "we walks on de shady side of de street now—don't we, Jimsey?" / "Yes, we lives on Easy street."
- 1919, Upton Sinclair, “Jimmie Higgins Puts His Foot in It”, in Jimmie Higgins , Pasadena, Calif.: Upton Sinclair, →OCLC, section II, page 83:
- There was big money in it—the fellows who did that job might live on Easy Street the rest of their lives.
- 1921 October 8 – December 31, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XIV, in Mostly Sally [The Adventures of Sally], 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, published 23 March 1923, →OCLC, section II, page 256:
- Honestly, Sally, it's the chance of a lifetime. It would put you right on easy street. Isn't there really any way you could get your money out of this other thing and take on this deal?
- 1972 October, Carole King (lyrics and music), “Bitter with the Sweet”, in Rhymes & Reasons:
- Sometimes I'm tired and I wonder / What's so all-fired important / About being someplace at some time / Oh, but I don't really mind / 'Cause I could be on Easy Street
- 1977, “Easy Street”, in Martin Charnin (lyrics), Charles Strouse (music), Annie (soundtrack):
- Easy street, easy street / Where the rich folks play (yeah, yeah, yeah) / Move them feet to easy street / When you get there, stay
Alternative forms
Translations
(informal) carefree lifestyle or situation, especially as resulting from being wealthy
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See also
Further reading
easy street (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia - “easy street, n.” under “easy, adj., adv., and n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2021. - “easy street, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- “easy street”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
