APAD: On the Pig's Back

Meaning:

   To be in luck; in a prosperous happy state.

   

Background:

   If ever a phrase were unequivocally Irish, it is this one. `On the pig's

   back' is a literal translation of the Irish `ar mhuin na muice', which is

   used colloquially to mean `well off'; `in luck'.  For example, this piece

   from the New Zealand newspaper The West Coast Times. August, 1890:

 

     If one third of the yarns about the size and quantity of the mica deposit

     in the district have any foundation in fact the Greymouth syndicates are on

     the pig's back.

 

   The notion of riding on a pig's back leads inevitably to `piggyback`. This

   term, in its original form at least, pre-dates `on the pig's back' and also

   the apparently related phrase `high on the hog` - and all these expressions

   have some association with enjoyment. Nevertheless, I can find no connection

   between them. Many English expressions and proverbs relate to pigs, no doubt

   because, as a race, the English have had much close contact with them over

   the centuries. The similarity of these three phrases appears to be no more

   than coincidental.

 

- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]

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It must not be easy getting off the pig, especially when the going is well. As

one software programmer put it: "We all came to make F-you money. But after we

made it, nobody said F-you anymore." However, my former boss, Tom, did that.

 

Tom graduated Stanford and worked in an appliance shop and stayed as a mid-level

manager in the same group after they were bought. When I joined, they were

acquired again by an SF company.

 

He had a sharp mind, easy manner, and soft voice and always enjoyed a small joke

or a colorful phrase. My first Christmas with them, he gave everyone a personal

gift, and I got three 4-oz mason jars of jam in a bag, apricot, orange, and

strawberry, made by his wife. It turned out to be a tradition as the next year

he gave me more and I gave him two cans of kimchi.

 

Then came the re-org. Our unit was made redundant, and engineers were

offered positions in other projects within the firm but most took a package and

moved on. Tom, in his early 50s, retired. He must have done well but still, few

would stop when on the pig's back.

 

Since then, he organized get-togethers of his former collegues, twice a year. I

didn't show up last year but will make the coming one. It's been 11 years since

we met. It'll be good to see him again.