1. Home
2. Idioms
3. lead a double life

lead a double life

---

---

lead a double life

to have a second, secret life that is usually not socially acceptable The investigation uncovered details of Boley's double life, including secret bank accounts and a private post office box.

Usage notes: also used with the verb live: Nobody in France seemed to really care that he lived a double life.

See also: double, lead, life

lead a double life

Live as if one were two persons, usually one good and one bad. For example, They learned that his frequent travels were actually fictitious, and he was leading a double life, with a second home on the other side of town . This phrase is frequently used for a married person who establishes a second household with a lover. [Late 1800s] Also see Jekyll and Hyde.

See also: double, lead, life