take five

T

take five (idiom)
/teɪk faɪv/

Meanings

• To take a short rest or quick break, usually about five minutes.
• To pause briefly from work or activity before resuming.

Synonyms: take a break; take a breather; pause; relax; rest.

Example Sentences

1. The coach told the players to take five after an intense practice session.
2. During the long meeting, the boss suggested they take five to stretch and refresh.
3. “Don’t worry about finishing the whole assignment tonight,” his mom said. “Just take five and come eat dinner.”
4. The musician told the band to take five before the second set, allowing everyone a chance to stretch and relax.

Origin and History

Origins in Mining Culture

The idiom “take five,” meaning a short break of about five minutes, traces its earliest roots to American mining communities in the early 20th century. In these harsh working conditions, miners used the phrase to signal a brief pause—often to rest or smoke—before resuming their physically demanding labor. Historical records confirm this origin, underscoring the phrase’s beginnings in U.S. labor culture.

Rise Through Jazz

The expression gained broader recognition in the jazz world, most famously through the 1959 composition “Take Five” by Paul Desmond, performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet. Recorded in 1959 and released in 1961, the piece became one of the best-selling jazz singles of all time. Its title not only referenced the tune’s distinctive 5/4 time signature but also echoed an expression already familiar among musicians, who used “take five” to mean a short break during rehearsals or performances. The song’s massive success cemented the phrase in popular culture.

Use in Theater and Performance

The phrase also found a home in American theater and vaudeville, where performers commonly took five-minute breaks between acts or during rehearsals. These artistic settings reinforced the expression’s informal tone and helped spread its usage beyond occupational circles. Together, the mining, jazz, and theater contexts trace a clear path of evolution: from a practical labor term to a cultural fixture in American English.

Country of Origin

The idiom “take five” is distinctly American in origin. Its earliest use comes from U.S. mining communities, which later flourished in jazz circles and stage performances. The popularity of Take Five by The Dave Brubeck Quartet further embedded the phrase in American culture. While it has since spread internationally, its development and earliest documented uses remain rooted in the United States.

Earliest Printed Record

The earliest known printed record of “take five” appears in Mining & Engineering World (April 1, 1916):

“When your candle goes out in the draft And you find your matches all wet..; Take five! Old Trapper, take five!”

This reference places the phrase directly within the mining world, underscoring its role as a call for a pause or rest in the tough conditions of underground work.

Another attestation surfaced the same year in the Chicago Defender (March 18, 1916):

“Just ‘take five’—meaning ‘get out of my face’—but I kept right on asking questions.”

Here the phrase carried a slang meaning of dismissal, distinct from the mining usage but demonstrating its wider reach in American vernacular.

Together, these 1916 records show that “take five” circulated in different contexts—both as a practical command for rest among miners and as a colloquial expression in urban slang—before settling into its now-familiar sense of a short break. Over time, however, the idiom shifted toward its modern meaning of a brief pause, a sense reinforced in jazz and theater and popularized worldwide by Brubeck’s recording.

Cultural and Linguistic Significance

“Take five” endures as a concise, versatile expression in American English. Its mining origins reflect the human need for rest in strenuous environments, while its adoption by jazz musicians and performers highlights how culture amplifies language. The 1916 Chicago Defender citation shows the phrase’s flexibility, carrying multiple shades of meaning before settling into its modern sense. Today, its use across workplaces, performance spaces, and everyday conversation underscores both its adaptability and its uniquely American linguistic journey—a reminder of how language captures the rhythm of labor, art, and life itself.

Variants

1. take ten
2. take a breather
3. take a pause

Numbers, Time, Work

Last update: September 13, 2025 11:35 AM