IdiomDaily Life
English
Englishsitting pretty
Meaning: In a good or advantageous situation; living comfortably.
Example: “With the mortgage paid and a pension coming, they're sitting pretty.”
Equivalents in other languages
Norwegian: Å være midt i smørøyet Literally: To be in the middle of the butter-eye
Irish: Tá sé ar muin na muice Literally: He's on the pig's back
Origin: American slang from the early 20th century; "pretty" here means comfortably or advantageously. The image is of someone well placed with nothing to worry about.
More English idioms
- sleep like a log To sleep so soundly that noise doesn't wake the person.
- snowball's chance in hell No chance at all.
- sow one's wild oats To do foolish or wild things, usually as a youth.
- speak of the devil An expression used when someone who is being talked about has just appeared.
- spitting image An exact likeness.
- split hairs To argue about some detail that is not important.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Pad kid poured curd pulled cod. Alternating repetition — the consonants swap at the start of every other word, which is w…
- Red lorry, yellow lorry. The 'l/r' alternation drill — deceptively short, yet almost impossible to say fast withou…
- How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? A 'w/ch/ck' drill that accelerates comically — and nobody really knows the answer.
Keep exploring