brewer n Cp OED brew v 4 c 'bring about ... natural phenomena' for sense 2.
   1 Either the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) or the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), remarkable for its lively actions in the water; see BREW.
   1863 HIND ii, 203 The herds of seals that frequent the Gulf of St Lawrence arrive there in the month of November. They come chiefly through the Straits of Belle Isle. They keep very close in the coasts either of Labrador or of Newfoundland, penetrating into all the bays, and not going out far from land when doubling the points and capes. They often stop to sport [and] are seen to dive repeatedly, coming up again almost immediately, and to roll themselves about, and beat the water with their hands. The fishermen call this brewing, and hence the name of 'brewer,' given to those kinds found on our coasts.
   2 A period of fine weather thought to presage a storm.
   1964 Daily News 21 Jan, p. 2 We have had one fine day so far this month, and that was what the old folk call 'a brewer' for a following storm on Friday past... [It] brought first very heavy snow, then torrential rains ... and winds gusting up to sixty miles an hour. C 75-145 A brewer is a beautiful day after a period of days which are neither really stormy, nor really fine. This beautiful day then brews the storm they believe has been in the making for some time.

Go Back