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Glite Dictionary
to take a pew

to take a pew

1 9.8
To sit down, often on a church seat but also anywhere
  • idiom
  • Archaic
: sentarse
  • Take a pew, Jack.

Examples

  • Take a pew.

    Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

  • - Take a pew.

    Gangster Squad (2013)

  • Take a pew, Chris.

    Young Soul Rebels (1991)

  • Take a pew, Chris.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • But then her eye caught the movement of Ross and Pete coming in to take a pew, and the hope that Ross would be at Grandma Em's for dinner was enough to make her want to stay in town.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • After a long walk, I was glad to finally take a pew and rest.

  • When the meeting started, everyone was invited to take a pew and get comfortable.

  • At the cafe, she offered her friend to take a pew while they waited for their drinks.

Synonyms

to sit down
vsto take a pew
∞ 1.0

Move from standing into a chair or onto the ground

is the informal British way to do that action, often originally in church
to have a seat
vsto take a pew
212 1.0

Please sit down

is informal British phrasing rather than a polite invitation
to perch at
vsto take a pew
  • Informal
2 6.4

To sit somewhere for a short time in a casual way

is a general informal British way to rest on furniture rather than balance
to sit one's ass down
vsto take a pew
  • Offensive
9.9

To sit down, often said strongly to tell someone to calm down

is the same action but expressed in informal British and gentler terms

Antonyms

to stand
∞ 1.0

To be or put something in an upright position

Surface Forms

take a pew infinitive
taking a pew present participle
takes a pew third person singular
took a pew past
taken a pew past participle

Morphology

take + a + pew

The phrase literally combines 'take' (assume) with 'pew' (a church bench), so its meaning 'take a seat / sit down' is directly derivable from the constituents in the same way as 'take a seat'. Although somewhat informal and chiefly British, the composition is transparent and follows a common cross-linguistic pattern of 'take + seat' constructions.

Etymology

Take a pew comes from church seating, where people would 'take a pew', meaning sit on a long wooden bench called a pew. That's why the phrase now means 'sit down' or make yourself comfortable.