lucky stiff

L

lucky stiff (idiom)
/ˈlʌki stɪf/

Synopsis

The idiom “lucky stiff” originated in early 20th-century American slang, blending “lucky” (meaning fortunate) with “stiff” (a casual term for a person or fellow). It refers to someone unusually fortunate—often in a way that seems undeserved—and carries a tone of irony or mild envy. First recorded in Ring Lardner’s 1914 short story “Horseshoes” in The Saturday Evening Post, the phrase became popular in American speech, especially in contexts involving gambling, sports, and sudden success.

Meanings

• A very lucky person — someone who has unusually good fortune.
• (Informal, sometimes envious) Someone who got lucky despite not deserving it.
• (Dated, informal) A fellow; here “stiff” just means a person, so the phrase labels that person as lucky.

Synonyms: fortunate person; lucky devil; lucky dog; blessed; charmed one.

Example Sentences

1. He won the lottery and bought a new house—everyone in town called him lucky stiff.
2. When she found a designer jacket at a thrift store for a dollar, her friend laughed, calling her lucky stiff.
3. The lucky stiff got promoted even though he was the newest employee on the team.

Origin and History

Etymological Foundations

The idiom “lucky stiff” arises from a blending of “lucky” (meaning fortunate) with “stiff,” used in early twentieth-century colloquial English to mean a “person” or “fellow.” Originally, “stiff” carried several slang senses—rigid, unyielding, or even a corpse—but by the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it had also become a blunt designation for an ordinary individual or character. Thus, “lucky stiff” works by applying the adjective of fortune to a seemingly unremarkable or undistinguished person, creating a vivid contrast. The phrase emphasizes unexpected or undeserved fortune rather than success achieved through merit.

Prevailing Theories on Origin

Linguists and language historians generally view “lucky stiff” as an organic formation from American colloquial speech. One dominant theory holds that it follows a common structural pattern—the adjective “lucky” combined with a slang noun like “stiff,” parallel to formations such as “lucky devil” or “fortunate soul.” The phrase gained popularity in anecdotes, sports writing, and conversational humor because it was vivid, expressive, and slightly ironic.

Another interpretation emphasizes tone rather than structure: the choice of “stiff” injects a faintly disparaging or sarcastic flavor, implying that the person’s good fortune is undeserved. A minority of commentators have speculated about a morbid link between “stiff,” meaning “corpse,” and the notion of luck, but no historical evidence supports that association. The expression is best understood as a colloquial pairing rooted in everyday American slang, not in dark humor.

Historical Development

The earliest known uses of “lucky stiff” appear in the United States during the 1910s, chiefly in short fiction, newspaper columns, and trade periodicals. This period, marked by mass-media growth and urban speech patterns, fostered countless idioms that blended humor and irony. “Lucky stiff” was frequently used in contexts involving gambling, sports, and unexpected promotion or success—circumstances where luck rather than effort seemed decisive.

By the 1920s, the phrase appeared regularly in magazines and popular literature, its colloquial tone well suited to conversational narrative. Over the following decades, “lucky stiff” maintained moderate popularity in American usage, eventually becoming marked as dated slang but still recognized as a colorful idiomatic expression.

Country of Inception

All available documentary evidence indicates that “lucky stiff” originated in the United States. Early attestations are exclusively American, appearing first in U.S. magazines and newspapers of the 1910s. The idiom’s informal humor, tone of mild envy, and social settings—workplaces, sports, and entertainment—align strongly with American vernacular development of the era.

Earliest Printed Instance

One of the earliest verifiable appearances of “lucky stiff” occurs in Ring Lardner’s short story “Horseshoes,” published in The Saturday Evening Post on August 15, 1914. In the story, a character exclaims:

“Shut up, you lucky stiff! I says. If you wasn’t so dam’ lucky you’d be sweepin’ the streets.”

This example captures the idiom’s essential tone—informal, slightly mocking, yet admiring of good fortune. The quotation predates other recorded instances, such as the 1915 usage in a Georgia newspaper boxing column. Based on current evidence, Lardner’s 1914 story provides the earliest known printed record of the phrase.

Variants

• lucky devil
• lucky dog
• fortunate soul
• lucky chap
• lucky bugger (regional/informal)

Fortune, Good, Luck