on the brew

English

Prepositional phrase

on the brew

1. (slang) On the dole; receiving unemployment benefit.
   • 1969, New York Magazine, volume 2, number 11, page 31:

     "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."

   • 2017, Lynda Collins, Jo Zebedee, M. Rush, Ghosts in the Glass and Other Stories, page 216:

     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.