sew buttons

English

Alternative forms

• (in response to "so"): sew buttons on your underwear

Etymology

Based on the fact that so and sew are homophonous.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Interjection

sew buttons

1. (idiomatic, humorous, slightly dated) used in response to someone asking "so?"
   • 2018, Lisa Super, chapter 13, in So Glad to Meet You:

     “Ah. So?” “Sew buttons.” “What was it like? I don't know.

   • 2016, Rita Lakin, Getting Old is Criminal:

     “That's what my mother used to say when we kept saying 'so.'” At Jack's puzzled look I bat my hand at him. “Don't bother trying to get it. It's a non sequitur.” “Oh. So. Sew buttons. I get it.”

   • 2012, Wendy Wunder, The Probability of Miracles, Penguin Random House Children's UK:

     “So.” “Sew buttons.” That phrase always made Cam laugh. Her grandmother was the only one who still used it because she was probably the only person who still actually sewed buttons.

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see sew,‎ button.