on the bench

1. Presiding as judge in a law court, as in Lawyers are very careful when Judge Brown is on the bench . This usage alludes to the seat occupied by a judge. [Late 1200s]

2. Waiting for a chance to participate; also, removed from participation. For example, Mary complained that all her colleagues were going to the sales conference while she was left on the bench . This usage comes from baseball and other sports, where players not deemed ready or competent to play sit on a bench watching the game. [Early 1900s]

Example Sentences

Judges have been fired, and the Pentagon has said it is identifying military lawyers and judges to temporarily sit on the bench.

From Los Angeles Times

Bryan Robson, part of the England coaching team, could be seen laughing on the bench almost in disbelief and there was a similar reaction among the fans, despite just 20,000 of them filtering into the national stadium for a Wednesday night friendly in an era characterised by low attendances.

From BBC

Stuart: Same old stagnant line-up with a plethora of exciting and in form players on the bench that did not get a sniff, personally I am left frustrated with a point because I think with a fresh perspective we could have won that tonight.

From BBC

I think there is an emerging generational divide: Older judges grew up with a Supreme Court that was still acting like a real court for most of their time on the bench; younger judges have only ever served under a Supreme Court that is corrupted by partisan politics.

From Slate

Holly Aitchison, a playmaking fly-half, will get the chance to pull strings for the first time in the tournament after recovering from an ankle injury to take her place on the bench.

From BBC

Related Words

• idle 
• inactive 
• jobless 
• underemployed