to read oneself in
Preserved but no longer current.
Said of a clergyman on entering upon a new incumbency, because one of his first duties is to give a public reading of the Thirty-nine Articles in the church to which he has just been appointed, and to make the Declaration of Assent.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to read oneself in” mean?
Said of a clergyman on entering upon a new incumbency, because one of his first duties is to give a public reading of the Thirty-nine Articles in the church to which he has just been appointed, and to make the Declaration of Assent.
Is “to read oneself in” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.