to live rent-free
1
8.6
- phrasal verb
- /lɪv rɛnt-fri/
- Slang
- I think that when someone zings a birther comment at this point, it is to live rent-free in that person's head.
Examples
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Some memories can live rent-free in your thoughts for years without you realizing it.
-
Birthers aren't living rent-free in anyone's heads but their own.
Blog text (28) -
It's almost like we live rent-free in his head.
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I think that when someone insults you, they are trying to live rent-free in your mind.
Synonyms
99
3.5
To keep someone's mind or attention busy
To stay constantly in someone's thoughts and annoy them
Antonyms
How Persistent
Surface Forms
Morphology
live + rent-free
The parts 'live' (to inhabit) and 'rent-free' (without paying rent) create a clear metaphorical image of something occupying a space without cost, so a learner could infer the general idea of something occupying the mind without benefit. However, the extension from literal habitation to mental occupancy and the conventional phrasing ('live rent-free in my head') is idiomatic and culturally grounded, so the precise meaning and usage are not fully predictable to a B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
Live rent-free imagines a person or idea staying in your mind like a house guest who pays no rent: the word live is the guest and rent-free shows they pay nothing. So saying something 'lives rent-free' in your head means it keeps taking up your thoughts without your permission or any benefit to you.