live over the brush

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word live over the brush. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word live over the brush, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say live over the brush in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word live over the brush you have here. The definition of the word live over the brush will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition oflive over the brush, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Etymology

Possibly ultimately derived from broomstick wedding, with broomstick meaning ersatz or sham. Often said to be derived from early British or Romani wedding practices, in which a couple could become married outside the Church by leaping a broom or brush, but no evidence exists for such a ceremony.

Verb

live over the brush (third-person singular simple present lives over the brush, present participle living over the brush, simple past and past participle lived over the brush)

  1. (Northern England, idiomatic) To cohabit without being married.
    • 1982, Peter Tinniswood, The Home Front, page 10:
      I know what people think about the North. They think it's all muck and living over the brush with women like Elsie Tanner.
    • 1991, Punch, volume 300, page 134:
      After the birth of their son, Stanley, the couple moved to Bradford and "lived over the brush" in West Bowling in a back-to-back terraced house.
    • 2013, Gilda O'Neill, Just Around the Corner, →ISBN:
      I was saying to my Albert, I wouldn't be surprised if him and that so-called wife of his was living over the brush.

Synonyms