Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
on the brew en · ADP
Meanings
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(slang) On the dole; receiving unemployment benefit.
"What do the Catholics do for work?"
"Go on the brew. You know the stayet. The Relief. Then they hang around the bars and the bookie shops. There's nothin' else they can do."
1969, New York Magazine, volume 2, number 11, page 31:Lost her job like so many others. It's hard to get jobs in retail these days, there's a lot of shops closing down. Senga's signed on the brew, but hopefully something will come up.
2017, Lynda Collins, Jo Zebedee, M. Rush, Ghosts in the Glass and Other Stories, page 216: