in a family way

English

Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning: see family,‎ way.
- 1859, William Makepeace Thackeray, The Virginians, ch. 58:
  Why don't we ask him and his ladies to come over in a family way and dine with some other plain country gentlefolks?
- 2002 Aug. 9, John Rivera, "Religious orders set to adopt milder stance on sex abusers," Baltimore Sun (retrieved 11 Aug. 2008):
  The congregation agrees in a family way to take care of them for life.
(euphemistic) Alternative form of in the family way.
- 1855 Aug. 25, "Law Intelligence: Supreme Court—Special Term," New York Times, p. 8:
  She mentioned that she was in a family way and . . . stated that she needed all her money to pay the doctor's bills at the approaching deliverance.
- 1947 Nov. 10, "Dear TIME-Reader," Time (retrieved 11 Aug. 2008):
  Her way of paying for these gift subscriptions was to choose one of her sows which was in a family way and, when the sow littered, to sell its offspring.
- 2005 April 15, Carolyn See, "Squab and Squabbles" (book review of Mothers and Sons by Paul Hond), Washington Post, p. C03 (retrieved 11 Aug. 2008):
  Three pregnancies occur in this novel: Nina, Fran and Danielle all find themselves in a family way.

in the family way — see in the family way

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.