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live out of a suitcase
Fig. to stay very briefly in several places, never unpacking one's luggage. I hate living out of a suitcase. For my next vacation, I want to go to just one place and stay there the whole time.
live something out
to act out something such as one's fantasies. She tried to live her dreams out. He has a tendency to try to live out his fantasies.
live out
1. Complete or survive the end of a period of time, as in Grandpa wants to live out his days in a warmer climate. [First half of 1500s]
2. Reside away from one's place of employment, as in
She's a fine housekeeper, but insists on living out. This expression is used primarily for domestic help. [Mid-1800s] Also see
live in, def. 1.
3. live out of. Lead a lifestyle characterized by a particular item. This phrase appears in such idioms as live out of a suitcase, meaning "to travel so much that one has no time to unpack one's belongings," or live out of cans, meaning "to eat only canned food for lack of other foods or time to prepare them." For example, Traveling for months on end, he got very tired of living out of a suitcase, or We had neither gas nor electricity for a week and had to live out of cans.
live out
v.1. To live outside one's place of domestic employment: You have to get home on time when you have a nanny who lives out.
2. To experience the passing and completion of some period of time or the attainment of something planned, desired, or imagined: She hopes to live out her dreams of becoming a famous author. He lived his last days out on a remote tropical island.
fold like a cheap suitcase
Collapse easily. Expensive luggage was made, as now, from well-constructed leather or fabric. Cheap ones used to be made of cardboard with little or no structural reinforcement, not very sturdy especially when manhandled by baggage handlers or hotel porters. A sports team with no defense or a poker player with a losing hand would both fold like a cheap suitcase. You'd also hear “fold like a cheap suit,” but since fabric folds easily, whether it's cashmere or polyester, “suitcase” presents a better connotation of a losing proposition.