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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
translation icon : 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
209 1.0

Please sit down

is informal British phrasing rather than a polite invitation
to sit one's ass down
vsto take a pew
  • Offensive
11 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
to perch at
vsto take a pew
  • Informal
1 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

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.