what is the meaning "to take to her bed"

[thomas615]

I read this sentence in the newspaper:

He was sick and had to take to his bed yesterday.

Can I say:
He was sick and had to stay in bed yesterday

 

[Barb_D]

Hi, and welcome to Using English.

Not only CAN you say that, it would be more natural to say it that way (in my opinion).

 

[Amigos4]

I read this sentence in the newspaper:

He was sick and had to take to his bed yesterday.

Can I say:
He was sick and had to stay in bed yesterday

I agree with Barb! Common usage in the US would be: He was sick and had to stay in bed yesterday. :up:

 

[Amigos4]

Thomas615, welcome to the forums! I hope you will be a frequent visitor!

 

[bhaisahab]

I read this sentence in the newspaper:

He was sick and had to take to his bed yesterday.

Can I say:
He was sick and had to stay in bed yesterday

"To take to one's bed" is not exactly the same as "to stay in bed". If you take to your bed, you go to bed. If you stay in bed, you are already in bed and you don't get up.

 

[Barb_D]

That's true and I thought about that after I posted.

Both "He had to go to bed" and "He had to stay in bed" are both more natural than "He had to take to his bed" in current, local usage.

 

[Tullia]

For some reason, "taking to one's bed" always makes me think of Mrs Bennet from P&P! I would use that phrase to describe what she does on hearing about Lydia running away from Brighton.

I associate it - and we are talking about very subtle shades of meaning here - with a decision or choice to go to bed, possibly justified but also possibly an overreaction. It feels like a dramatic action of some kind, and therefore I would say is more suited to literature. As people have said above, it's certainly not a phrase we would use conversationally, in any case.

 

[Amigos4]

For some reason, "taking to one's bed" always makes me think of Mrs Bennet from P&P! I would use that phrase to describe what she does on hearing about Lydia running away from Brighton.

I associate it - and we are talking about very subtle shades of meaning here - with a decision or choice to go to bed, possibly justified but also possibly an overreaction. It feels like a dramatic action of some kind, and therefore I would say is more suited to literature. As people have said above, it's certainly not a phrase we would use conversationally, in any case.

I agree with you, Tullia! "Taking to one's bed" has always struck me as being a dramatic action! An individual who is trying to escape/run away from an emotional issue/situation would 'take to bed' rather than just go to bed! When I am ill I will 'go to bed'...when my mother-in-law announces she is coming for a 3 week visit I will 'take to my bed'!!! ;-):lol:

 

[BobK]

Hi, and welcome to Using English.

Not only CAN you say that, it would be more natural to say it that way (in my opinion).

In Br Eng, as bhaisahab says, it's common to say 'took to his bed' (when someone's ill). I don't take to my bed every night; I go to bed. Some people favour 'go to bed', even when they're ill; but a lot of people still 'take to their bed'.

As it's a choice, and as the more modern-sounding version is plain 'go to bed', even regular users of 'go to bed' sometimes use 'take to his bed' sarcastically (of someone who takes his minor indispositions too seriously - 'John's not in today. He has a touch of man-'flu and has taken to his bed again'.)


b

 

[konungursvia]

I keep reading the title as "Take her to bed" (as in, just to keep her from the foggy foggy dew). We seldom hear "take to her bed" here.

 

[bhaisahab]

I keep reading the title as "Take her to bed" (as in, just to keep her from the foggy foggy dew). We seldom hear "take to her bed" here.

I keep reading it like that too! What does that say about us? In fact, I like it as an expression, I find it has a kind of poetry to it. ;-)

 

[konungursvia]

"Imaginative" minds think alike I suppose...

 

[philadelphia]

He was sick and had to take [the direction] to his bed yesterday.

*Not a teacher

I do not mean to make it too easy, however, "take to" sounds like an abbreviation of "take the direction to" -meaning "go to". It would perfectly make sense in this very context to me.

 

[BobK]

*Not a teacher

I do not mean to make it too easy, however, "take to" sounds like an abbreviation of "take the direction to" -meaning "go to". It would perfectly make sense in this very context to me.

Hmm :?: Which sort of 'direction'? ('upstairs' or 'doctors orders'?) To me, it's a change of medium - like an aircraft taking to the air, or (a good idiom this) 'he's taken to it like a duck to water' [='it came naturally to him']. (The metaphorical duck does indeed go to the water, but it does more than that: it gets in.)

There's also a meaning of 'take to' that involves the adoption of a habit: 'He's taken to having his breakfast at the same deli every day.'

b