sew buttons
Used in response to someone asking "so?"
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“A: So? B: Sew buttons.”
“When he asked me what I thought about his bad idea, I just told him to sew buttons.”
“She grew tired of his constant, prying questions and finally dismissed his curiosity by telling him to sew buttons.”
The idiom relies upon the homophony between the conjunction *so* and the verb *sew*. It is a punning response employed when an interlocutor concludes a statement with *so*, the phonetic coincidence allowing for the suggestion that the speaker ought to finish the job by attaching buttons.
- 01
Benjamin Button
To seemingly age in reverse; to appear younger, either through changes in appearance or one's personality and lifestyle.
- 02
button nose
A nose with a small size and a relatively flat, round shape, usually considered to be dainty or cute in appearance.
- 03
button one's lip
To remain silent, especially in order to keep a secret or to avoid saying something inappropriate.
- 04
button pusher
Someone who pushes someone else's buttons: someone who goads, annoys, provokes, etc.
- 05
care a button
To care (at all).
- 06
hold by the button
To detain in conversation to the point of weariness or tedium; to bore while tallking to
- 07
press the panic button
To start to panic.
Last updated August 10, 2026