live on the edge

Verb

to live on the edge (third-person singular simple present lives on the edge, present participle living on the edge, simple past and past participle lived on the edge)

1. (idiomatic) To have an adventurous or perilous lifestyle; to behave in a manner which creates risks for oneself.
   • Your idea that murder is the objective correlative of spiritual death, a metaphor for our daily lives, is fascinating. Is living on the edge thrilling and an interesting way to live?1983, Diana Cooper-Clark, Designs of Darkness: Interviews with Detective Novelists
   • I wanted a chance to get out, to live life on the edge.[…] All right! All right. I can understand you wanting some excitement. But do you have any idea what you're getting involved in here?1984, “A Good Knight's Work”, in Knight Rider
2. (idiomatic) To be caught in an economic or societal situation which one did not choose, which threatens one's well-being or life, and which causes distress.
   • Any yet what we are talking about today is a threat to life, for 36 million very important Americans living on the margin so to speak, living on the edge, certainly, and living in wonderment as to whether or not they are going to be treated fairly in this process.1982, William R. Ratchford, Hearing Before the Select Committee on Aging / House of Representatives
   • "The bombing was a sudden jolt and we are back to living on the edge again," said Gonsherovsky, 23, in Jerusalem's crowded Mahane Yehuda market.2006 April 19, “Tel Aviv bombing shatters lull in violence”, in IOL News (Reuters-Sapa-AP), retrieved 13 Oct 2011