steal a living

Verb

steal a living (third-person singular simple present steals a living, present participle stealing a living, simple past stole a living, past participle stolen a living)

1. (UK, especially, idiomatic) To be bad at one's job, especially a well-paid prestigious one.
   • I've tried in vain to haul a club out of a nose-dive and I've come to realise that real football managers aren't actually know-nothing morons stealing a living. They're experienced football men doing their very best to succeed against the odds.2012 August 10, Iain Macintosh, Kenny Millar, Neil White, Football Manager Stole My Life, BackPage Press, →ISBN
   • Notwithstanding his apparent ineptitude, Carlos Sánchez has 88 caps for Colombia, who always give our nation's finest a stern test. It seems like he's stealing a living on a ridiculous £ 70k p/w.2023 January 9, Paul Brand, Fortune's Always Hiding: From Stratford to Seville, Pitch Publishing Limited, →ISBN
2. (UK, idiomatic) To have a job that is perceived as worthless.
   • Another accused product managers of "stealing a living": "As an engineer, I feel I can easily do their job in addition to mine with not much extra effort," they wrote.2024 November 20, Amanda Hoover, “Product managers rule Silicon Valley. Not everyone is happy about it.”, in Business Insider
3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see steal, a, living; to live on the proceeds of theft.