- Home
- Idioms
- sitting pretty
sitting pretty
*sitting pretty
living in comfort or luxury; living in a good situation. (*Typically: be ~; leave someone ~.) My uncle died and left enough money for me to be sitting pretty for the rest of my life. Now that I have a good-paying job, I'm sitting pretty.
sitting pretty
in a good situation She's sitting pretty as one of the music world's fastest-rising stars. These investments can provide cash to keep you sitting pretty once you retire.
sitting pretty
In an advantageous position; also, financially well off. For example, The terms of the will left Mary sitting pretty. Although the use of pretty in the sense of "advantageous" is much older, this colloquialism dates only from the early 1900s. It was given extra currency as the title of two different musicals, Sittin' Pretty (M. Moore, 1921) and Sitting Pretty (G. Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, 1924).
sitting pretty
mod. doing very nicely; in a very pleasant and secure position. She married a millionaire, and now she’s sitting pretty.