A conversation between two Scots:
— What do you do for a living?
— I'm on the brew.
Assuming that I have the phrase right, what exactly does "on the brew" mean here? Based on the context, I expect that it has something to do with "being unemployed". Where did the term originate and where exactly is it used and understood?
Best Answer
The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang (2007) says:
On the brew means being unemployed or receiving unemployment benefits, and is similar to on the dole.
The oldest I found in Google Books for the exact phrase on the brew is in the New York Magazine (Vol. 2, No. 11) of 17 Mar 1969, in an interview with New York immigrant James Toner from Belfast, Northern Ireland:
I've never heard it before, but I've never lived in Scotland. It is still used by people in the Glasgow area. Looking for current usage, I searched Twitter and found this from someone in Glasgow:
And this from someone in Cumnock (39 miles from Glasgow):
And finally, this from someone in Wishaw (15 miles from Glasgow):