ride high

English

Etymology

• Possibly an allusion to one who rides on horseback in an upright, proud, commanding manner.

Pronunciation

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Verb

ride high (third-person singular simple present rides high, present participle riding high, simple past and past participle rode high)

1. (idiomatic) To enjoy good fortune; to be in a privileged situation; to be particularly happy or proud.
   • 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “ch. 9”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, (please specify |book=I or IV, or the page):

     He that went away with his frock-skirts looped over his arm, comes back riding high; suddenly made one of the dignitaries of this world.

   • 1955 October 10, “Science: An Attribute of God”, in Time, retrieved 8 January 2018:

     Many people suspect that scientists, riding high in the modern world, are uninterested in man's spiritual qualities, which cannot be subjected to test tube and microscopic analysis.

   • 1987 June 15, Susan Chira, “Honda is powered by risks”, in New York Times, retrieved 8 January 2018:

     Many analysts believe that Honda's enterprising spirit, deeply embedded in the company's culture, has been primarily responsible for its dazzling success. . . . But even as Honda rides high, the company faces challenges on several fronts.

   • 2015 December 30, Ben Fong-Torres, “KNBR’s Larry Krueger: You can go home again”, in Seattle Post-Intelligencer, retrieved 8 January 2018:

     But Radnich, 65, and Krueger, 45, have enough in common that their partnership has worked. On a station that rides high with the fortunes of the Giants, the Warriors and the Niners, the two have fended off such competitors as KGMZ.

   • 2017 July 7, Abha Bhattarai, “$350 jeans are dead. $100 leggings killed them.”, in Washington Post, retrieved 8 January 2018:

     True Religion . . . filed for bankruptcy protection this week. . . . A decade ago, the brand was riding high, commanding hundreds of dollars a pair for jeans.

2. (idiomatic, slang, sex) To perform the coital alignment technique.

Usage notes

• Often used in the present participial form: riding high

See also

• tall in the saddle