live rent-free in someone's head en · VERB
Etymology
Often attributed to American advice columnist Eppie Lederer (1918–2002), who used it in her syndicated advice column in 1990.
Meanings
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(US, idiomatic, informal) To be the perpetual focus of someone's thoughts, with that person having no control over this situation.
Gem of the Day: Hanging onto resentment is letting someone you despise live rent free in your head.
1990 March 8, Ann Landers [Eppie Lederer], “Breast cancer is in her family”, in Daily American, volume 62, number 210, Somerset, Pa., page 12:It may not seem that way, but this is a testament to Hillary's ability to successfully make such a mark on her opposition that she lives rent-free in their heads for decades.
2015, Joanne Bamberger, Love Her, Love Her Not: The Hillary Paradox:The difficult bosses then get under their skin and live “rent-free” in their heads long after they've left work and gone home to sleep.
2010, Jennifer C. Hunt, Seven Shots: An NYPD Raid on a Terrorist Cell and Its Aftermath, page 32:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| live rent free in someone's head | alternative | lexicographic | |
| living rent-free in someone's head | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| lives rent-free in someone's head | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| lived rent-free in someone's head | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| lived rent-free in someone's head | Tense=Past | lexicographic |
Synonyms
live rent-free in someone's mind
Translations (1)
cmn 在某人的心裏住下 /在某人的心里住下 (Translations)