literary to live well by using someone else's money
He's spent these last five years battening on some rich aunt of his.
phrasebatten on batten on sbBrE old-fashioned to have a comfortable life or become successful by using or getting someone else's money in an unfair way: Advertising makes people buy things they do not want, enabling huge multinational companies to batten on the working classes.■ SIMILAR TO: sponge off