sit-downn.adj.
/ˈsɪtdaʊn/, U.S. /ˈsɪtˌdaʊn/ (in sense A. 1 also)Brit. /ˌsɪtˈdaʊn/ A. n.† 5. A place where a traveller may sit and rest. Obsolete. rare.
1. colloquial. An act or period of sitting down, esp. as an occasion for rest or conversation.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > social gathering > [noun] > intimate
fire night1652
sit-down1777
the world > space > relative position > posture > action or fact of sitting > [noun] > an act of
sit-down1777
the world > action or operation > ceasing > temporary cessation of activity or operation > [noun] > rest > in specific posture
lie-down1840
stretch1856
sit-down1857
lay-down1897
1777 J. Hancock Let. 14 Jan. in Coll. N.-Y. Hist. Soc. 1878 (1879) 1 iii. 4142 I long to see you here, and yet you must stay at Philada. I have some of your own wine left for you. I wish to have one sit down with you in my poor habitation.
1826 Australian (Sydney) 12 Apr. An assignment of one and all to the watch-house for the night, and a sit-down at the police-office next morning.
1857 Knickerbocker Jan. 40 Mace carrying one end of a trunk, Mary the other, and little Sam coming after with a bundle and a basket, with a sit down and rest at the end of every block.
1861 H. B. Stowe Pearl of Orr's Island I. xii. 104 I am come here for a good sit-down by your kitchen-fire.
1932 D. L. Sayers Have his Carcase iv. 56 ‘A nice sit-down in the lounge,’ said Wimsey, sitting down.
1967 N. Freeling Strike Out 69 The sit-down had done his leg..some good.
1982 J. Sherwood Shot in Arm iii. 32 If Verney wanted to go back..it would mean a sit-down and a cup of tea.
2002 A. Cumming Tommy's Tale (2004) 7 It got a little too intense at one point and we needed to have a little sit-down.
2. colloquial. A person's buttocks; the bottom, the backside. Cf. sit-upon n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > back > buttock(s) > [noun]
flitcha700
arse-endseOE
culec1220
buttockc1300
tail1303
toutec1305
nagea1325
fundamentc1325
tail-end1377
brawna1382
buma1387
bewschers?a1400
crouponc1400
rumplec1430
lendc1440
nachec1440
luddocka1475
rearwarda1475
croupc1475
rumpc1475
dock1508
hurdies1535
bunc1538
sitting place1545
bottom?c1550
prat1567
nates1581
backside1593
crupper1594
posteriorums1596
catastrophe1600
podex1601
posterior1605
seat1607
poop1611
stern1631
cheek1639
breeka1642
doup1653
bumkin1658
bumfiddle1661
assa1672
butt1675
quarter1678
foundation1681
toby1681
bung1691
rear1716
fud1722
moon1756
derrière1774
rass1790
stern-post1810
sit-down1812
hinderland1817
hinderling1817
nancy1819
ultimatum1823
behinda1830
duff?1837
botty1842
rear end1851
latter end1852
hinder?1857
sit1862
sit-me-down1866
stern-works1879
tuchus1886
jacksy-pardy1891
sit-upon1910
can1913
truck-end1913
sitzfleisch1916
B.T.M.1919
fanny1919
bot1922
heinie1922
beam1929
yas yas1929
keister1931
batty1935
bim1935
arse-end1937
twat1937
okole1938
bahookie1939
bohunkus1941
quoit1941
patoot1942
rusty-dusty1942
dinger1943
jacksie1943
zatch1950
ding1957
booty1959
patootie1959
buns1960
wazoo1961
tush1962
1812 Crit. Rev. 24 App. 526 True, he [sc. Glaucus, a Roman sea-god] was half-fish; but on old gems and bas-reliefs Gierig might have noted that enough of his sit-down remained for him to enjoy that pleasant position whenever he pleased.
1891 Daily Californian (Bakersfield) 24 Apr. They ought to be spanked until their little sit-downs tingle as if with righteous indignation.
2013 G. T. Brideau Time Shifter (e-book, accessed 11 May 2020) 130 My sit-down is getting frostbite.
3. A meeting at which participants sit together for a formal, serious, or lengthy discussion, typically to settle a dispute, resolve a situation, or conduct an interview. Cf. sense B. 2.Typically used with specific reference to meetings attended in person, as opposed to telephone conversations, etc., though now also sometimes used of meetings conducted online.In early use perhaps overlapping with sense A. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > association for a common purpose > meeting or assembling for common purpose > [noun] > a meeting > types of
morn-speechOE
court1154
morrow-speech1183
conventicle1382
congregation1389
plenary session1483
journeyc1500
night school1529
assession1560
general meeting1565
family meeting1638
panegyris1647
desk1691
collegea1703
annual general meeting1725
mass meeting1733
panegyre1757
plenum1772
family council1797
coterie1805
Round Table1830
GA1844
indignation meeting1848
protest meeting1852
hui1858
primary1859
Quaker meeting1861
mothers' meeting1865
sit-down1868
town hall1912
jamboree1919
protest rally1921
con1940
face-to-face1960
morning prayers1961
struggle meeting1966
be-in1967
love-in1967
plenary1969
catch-up1972
rencontre1975
schmoozefest1976
1868 W. F. Bartlett Let. 13 May in F. W. Palfrey Mem. W. F. Bartlett (1879) 217 I..will not come away without a ‘sit-down’ with you of an hour or two, when I can put you in possession of all the facts.
1907 Proc. 41st Ann. Encampm. Grand Army of Republic Dept. N.Y. 275 I had a sit-down with the President... He wanted to talk about an address which he proposed to deliver on Memorial Day.
1969 D. R. Cressey Theft of Nation x. 233 It took five years and a considerable number of ‘sit-downs’ for him to regain his economic status.
2014 S. Kuhn Kill your Boss xxv. 204 Like me, she probably has to have a sit-down with her superiors to discuss her lack of progress.
4. North American. In the language of tramps: a sit-down meal given to a tramp begging at a person's door. Cf. handout n.2 1. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun] > sit-down meal
set-down1824
sit-down1894
1894 D. C. Gilman Organization of Charities 35 At one time in Milwaukee he tried to see how many dinners he could get; he got four dinners and then he stopped. He said they gave what they call ‘Hand-outs’, and they gave out what they call ‘Sit-downs’. He said as long as they did that, these tramps continued to be tramps.
1926 J. Black You can't Win vi. 67 She'll give you a sit-down for yourself, chances are, but bring back a ‘lump’ for us.
1927 F. Niven Queer Fellows iv. 45 There must be houses where we could get a hand-out for sure... We might even get a sit-down.
1936 New Republic 15 July 289/1 Upon the occasions referred to, ‘sit downs’, or invitations to eat at the family table, are more apt to be given.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > place of resort > [noun] > resting-place for travellers
sit-down1898
society > travel > aspects of travel > a journey > [noun] > break in a journey > stopping-place on a journey
gist?c1225
mansiona1382
baiting1477
station1578
mansion place1584
manzil1619
night stop1787
gite1798
outspan1821
halting-place1826
stopping-place1827
stepping-stone1849
waypoint1860
landing-place1861
stop-off1869
stop-over1881
siding1896
half-way1897
sit-down1898
pull-up1899
1898 Jrnl. School Geogr. (U.S.) Oct. 315 At intervals of two miles [in Burma]..are ‘sit-downs’, generally a favorite tree selected because of its dense and wide spreading shade, beneath which all native travellers have their sit-down and smoke.
6. Originally U.S. A strike or protest in which people occupy a workplace or a public building, or sit down on the ground in a public place, typically refusing to leave until their demands are met; a sit-down strike or protest. Cf. sit-in n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > rebelliousness > militancy > [noun] > demonstration > types of demonstration or protest
counterprotest1595
student demonstration1856
lie-in1867
rent strike1881
hunger strike1889
march1908
protest march1914
occupation1920
lie-down1936
sit-down1936
sit-in1936
freedom march1947
vigil1956
freedom walk1957
swim-in1960
freedom ride1961
sitting in1961
sleep-out1961
fish-in1964
live-in1964
stall-in1964
sleep-in1965
Long March1967
love-in1967
talk-in1967
write-in1967
die-in1970
dirty protest1979
blanket protest1982
1936 N.Y. Times 2 Feb. 26/1 The Akron rubber industry's second ‘sit-down’ of the week was in progress today.
1958 Economist 1 Nov. 421/1 The Japanese government has long been irked by the failure of the police to deal effectively with demonstrators who stage sit-downs at American air bases and also inside government offices.
1972 R. Thomas Porkchoppers (1974) xxvi. 228 I spent forty-one days in that place... It was a sit-down and the old man sent me in to sit with them.
1978 Peace News 25 Aug. 3/1 The next day, 2,100 workers turned up for a ‘sit-down’, and another 300 were dismissed.
2000 Irish Times (Nexis) 3 Aug. (World News section) 11 The demonstrators, representing a variety of causes including the anti-death penalty movement, kept the police on the move as they switched their sitdowns from street to street.
B. adj.
1. Done or taken while sitting down; esp. (of a meal) eaten while sitting down; (hence) relatively formal or substantial. Cf. stand-up adj. 3a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > meal > [adjective] > qualities of meals
substantial1340
simplea1387
dry1483
of substance?c1500
large1528
hearty?1550
abstemious1604
scrambling1607
running1618
lusty1672
sit-down1789
well-served1796
à la carte1816
slap-up1823
quaresimal1828
scratch1851
square1868
scrambly1900
set1914
handout1915
all-you-can-eat1940
spready1960
carbo-load1986
1789 E. Wynne Diary 2 Oct. in A. Fremantle Wynne Diaries (1935) I. i. 10 On our return a sit-down supper.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. I. 264 Jemima thought we'd better have a regular sit-down supper, in the front parlour.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 4 June 3/1 It seems that the Kitchen Committee..will have nothing to do with an organised sit-down banquet.
1937 H. Jennings et al. May 12th Mass-observ. Day-surveys (1987) i. 52 In the afternoon there will be a sit-down tea for the children and an open-air whist drive for adults.
1941 Irish Times 24 Nov. 5/7 The kitchen's daily average..is 400 to 450 sit-down meals, and about 60 take-away meals.
1945 G. Mitchell Rising of Moon (1996) ii. 19 She had treated us..to a proper sit-down lunch inside a building instead of the usual sandwiches and minerals on a seat in the grounds.
1959 Sears, Roebuck Catal. Spring–Summer 966/2 Ironing Table Designed for stand-up and sit-down ironing.
1978 E. Anderson Place on Corner iii. 61 People working in ‘sit-down’ or white-collar jobs are viewed as ‘having it made’... Though sit-down jobs are believed to be easy, they are thought to be high-paying.
2012 ‘Gentle Author’ Spitalfields Life 322/2 They hired..a paddle steamer to take them on a trip over to Folkestone and back for a sit-down dinner at Dreamland.
2. Designating a meeting at which participants sit together for a formal, serious, or lengthy discussion, typically to settle a dispute, resolve a situation, or conduct an interview. Cf. sense A. 3.Typically used with specific reference to meetings attended in person, as opposed to telephone conversations, etc., though now also sometimes used of meetings conducted online.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > association for a common purpose > meeting or assembling for common purpose > [adjective] > types of meeting
fullOE
panegyric1603
panegyricala1617
sit-down1875
quorate1893
plenary1907
inquorate1974
1875 Russellville (Arkansas) Democrat 25 Mar. A real sit-down-talk, running over, in a single sitting, half the incidents of ones [sic] life.
1920 Winnipeg Evening Tribune 5 Mar. 2/4 He presided at the ‘sit down’ meeting of the food committee at the city hall early in the strike.
1982 Financial Times 1 Sept. 7/3 While the CBI [= Confederation of British Industry] will not be holding sit down talks with the Prime Minister, the unions will.
2006 L. McIntyre Essentials Govt. Contract Negotiators xii. 115 During the sit-down negotiation session, you'll want to continue to use questions to dig for more information about the other side's position, interests, needs, hidden agendas, and so forth.
3.
a. Designating a restaurant or other establishment where customers sit at tables, a counter, etc., to eat or drink.Sometimes with the implication of (relative) formality, and frequently contrasted with establishments whose customers stand at a counter or bar (cf. stand-up adj. 3a) or take food to eat elsewhere (cf. takeout adj. 3a, takeaway adj. 1b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating place > [adjective] > types of eating-house
stand-up1872
quick-lunch1891
sit-down1891
help-yourself1894
quick-and-dirty1908
serve-self1908
drive-through1918
tea-shoppy1931
full-service1934
snack bar1940
fast-casual1995
1891 Logansport (Indiana) Times 10 Apr. I give a good meal for what it would cost a man to tip a waiter in a sit down restaurant.
1998 Time Out N.Y. 29 Oct. 49/3 A Brooklyn treasure, this sit-down pizzeria near the waterfront bakes some of the best pies in the city.
2016 Morning Bull. (Rockhampton, Queensland) (Nexis) 13 Feb. 16 An air-conditioned well-stocked souvenir/gift shop in conjunction with a sit-down cafeteria where travellers can rest and relax.
b. Designating a customer who sits at a table, counter, etc., to eat or drink in a restaurant or other establishment.
ΚΠ
1947 Billboard 5 July 67/3 Taylor handles his cookhouse griddle himself while four waitresses serve the sit-down customers.
1990 Star (Homewood & Flossmoor, Illinois) 11 Feb. e2/1 Sparkling..interior houses bakery and dining area, with tables and counter for sit-down patrons.
2017 Stroud Life (Nexis) 6 Sept. 21 We were pretty much the only sit-down diners in there but the kitchen was a hive of activity and plenty of takeaway orders were being processed.
4. Originally U.S.
a. Designating a strike or protest in which people occupy a workplace or a public building, or sit down on the ground in a public place, typically refusing to leave until their demands are met.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > rebelliousness > militancy > [adjective] > demonstrating > type of demonstration
sit-down1934
sit-in1936
Aldermaston1958
1934 Eng. Rev. Oct. 414 A serious ‘sit-down’ strike, where the workers downed tools and let the machinery slide past them in the Motor Products plant in Detroit.
1936 N.Y. Times 30 Jan. 7/6 1000 workers of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company remained idle in a ‘sit down’ protest.
1958 San Francisco Examiner 24 Aug. i. 25/6 The ‘sit-down’ endeavor at Brown's [luncheonette] was the latest in a series which began Tuesday night.
1961 Daily Tel. 18 Oct. 1/1 Four members of the anti-nuclear Committee of 100 staged a sit-down protest for over four hours last night in a sitting-room at the Russian Embassy in London.
1972 G. Durrell Catch me Colobus x. 221 Remember that animals and plants have no M.P. they can write to; they can't perform sit-down strikes..they have nobody to speak for them except us.
2008 Spectator (Nexis) 12 Jan. 32 He took part in a sitdown demonstration in Trafalgar Square.
b. Designating a person who participates in a sit-down strike or protest.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > rebelliousness > militancy > [adjective] > demonstrating
demonstrating1888
sit-down1936
1936 Washington Post 7 June 2/4 Making up the total of the idle were an estimated 400 ‘sit down’ demonstrators in the General Electric's Schenectady, N. Y. plant.
1937 Times 25 Jan. 19/4 The General Motors Corporation has decided to remain in possession of such of its plants as are occupied by sit-down strikers.
1962 Listener 15 Mar. 458/2 The reasonable sit-down demonstrator.
2010 Belfast Tel. (Nexis) 14 July 4 Members of this organisation..were among the sit-down protesters on the road who were arrested by riot police on Monday night.
5. Of a thing: designed, intended, or suitable for use while seated.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > posture > action or fact of sitting > [adjective] > requiring sitting posture
sedentary1603
sitting1812
sit-down1936
1936 Gastonia (N. Carolina) Daily Gaz. 1 Dec. 4/3 New Christmas wrinkle in Christmas toys: Sit-down scooter.
1944 A. J. Liebling Road back to Paris vi. 252 Once I heard one of the other boys say that now that the field had been in operation for six weeks, he thought it was time the men should build a sit-down toilet.
1994 enRoute Nov. 45/1 Blackcomb takes a great leap forward with a new eight-person sit-down gondola that whisks skiers to its upper reaches.
2011 Whitsunday (Queensland) Times (Nexis) 5 May 36 Only 60 watercraft are able to participate in the event as participants need to provide their own sit-down craft which must be no older than a 2004 model.
Compounds
sit-down money n. (a) U.S. (a depreciative term for) a welfare allowance paid to unemployed military veterans returning to civilian life after the Second World War (rare); (b) Australian (in Australian Aboriginal usage) unemployment or welfare benefits.
ΚΠ
1949 Chester (Pa.) Times 17 June 2/1 Rankin indicated..that his committee will not consider bills to keep alive the ‘readjustment allowance’ under which ex-GI's without jobs can draw $20 a week for up to 52 weeks. ‘There is a lot of opposition to any continuation of this sit-down money’ he told a reporter.
1976 Canberra Times 17 Mar. 10/7 Government living allowances—what the Aborigines called ‘sit-down money’.
1993 Advertiser (Adelaide) (Nexis) 16 Sept. Tribal elder Mr Danny Colson says his people do not want ‘sit-down’ money. ‘We're just about sick of handouts... We are sick of paternalism.’
2010 R. Skelton King Brown Country vii. 82 Big card games..usually took place on government payday, when sit-down money and mining royalties flowed into bank accounts.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2020; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.adj.1777