begin with the chucky

verb

To live beyond one's means.

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Meanings

verbbegin with the chucky (third-person singular simple present begins with the chucky, present participle beginning with the chucky, simple past began with the chucky, past participle begun with the chucky)

present singular third person begins with the chucky · participle present beginning with the chucky · past began with the chucky · participle past begun with the chucky

  1. obsoleteTo live beyond one's means.

    Half the world now begins with the 'chucky'.

    1865, English Women's Domestic Magazine, page 89
    2 more examples

    Recollect and apply the general principle involved in the lament over "Andrew's imprudence," and don't "begin with the chucky"!

    1871, Young people, The Juvenile instructor and companion, page 220

    Our son Andrew has now got a shop and a wife too. He is trying his hand both at business and at housekeeping : but. oh, sir ! he has made an awfu' mistake : he has begun with the chucky !

    1891, The Quiver

Origin

From a story in which a frugal mother recalls how she used to eat cheap foods such as porridge before becoming wealthy enough to afford chucky (“chicken”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

begin with the chucky. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/begin%20with%20the%20chucky

MLA

“begin with the chucky.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/begin%20with%20the%20chucky. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “begin with the chucky,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/begin%20with%20the%20chucky.

Source: begin with the chucky on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.