how the other half lives

noun

The comfortable, luxurious lifestyles of those who are very wealthy.

Meanings

nounhow the other half lives (uncountable)

alternative how the other half live

  1. uncountableThe comfortable, luxurious lifestyles of those who are very wealthy.

Origin

From the publication How the Other Half Lives: Studies among the Tenements of New York by Jacob Riis, published in 1890. The photojournalistic piece depicted the previously unseen squalor that many immigrants in New York were subjected to in the 1880s.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

how the other half lives. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/how%20the%20other%20half%20lives

MLA

“how the other half lives.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/how%20the%20other%20half%20lives. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “how the other half lives,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/how%20the%20other%20half%20lives.

Source: how the other half lives on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.