to strike lucky
Preserved but no longer current.
See STRIKE. Lucullus sups with Luculhis (luk uTus). Said of a glutton who gormandizes alone. Lucullus was a rich Roman, noted for his magnificence and self-indulgence. Sometimes above £1,700 was expended on a single meal, and Horace tells us he had 5,000 rich purple robes in his house.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to strike lucky” mean?
See STRIKE. Lucullus sups with Luculhis (luk uTus). Said of a glutton who gormandizes alone. Lucullus was a rich Roman, noted for his magnificence and self-indulgence. Sometimes above £1,700 was expended on a single meal, and Horace tells us he had 5,000 rich purple robes in his house.
Is “to strike lucky” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.