take (something) as read
idiom

- assume something without the need for further discussion

- to accept or assume that something is true and does not need to be proved

Oxford Languages, Merriam-Webster

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PHRASE ORIGIN

The idiom "take it as read" originated from British legal and business practices of the late 18th/early 19th centuries.

The term comes from formal meetings where documents, particularly long legal texts or minutes from previous meetings, needed to be officially acknowledged. Rather than reading these documents aloud in their entirety (which would be time-consuming), participants would agree to "take them as read" - meaning they would treat the documents as if they had been read aloud, even though they hadn't been.

The practice developed from parliamentary procedures, corporate board meetings, and legal court proceedings.

Over time, the phrase evolved to mean “accept something without further discussion.”

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DON’T ASSUME!

Back in 1962, Dick Rowe, chief talent-spotter at Decca Records, made a terrible assumption: “Guitar groups are on the way out" he explained, while rejecting The Beatles, the soon-to-be biggest band in history. His rejection letter specified "The Beatles have no future in show business”. Dick Rowe became famous for making possibly the worst business decision in music history.

KEY TAKEAWAY: One should be very careful when making assumptions,… as it can so easily make an “ASS out of U and ME”.

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SYNONYMS

accept/assume (as fact, as given, as true, without question), acknowledge tacitly, article of faith, as a matter of course, bank on it, bargain on, be convinced, be given to understand (inclined to think, of the opinion, sure of), believe (implicitly), bet on it, beyond doubt, can count on it, conclude (that), consider as (it) done, count on it, deem as fact, depend on, draw the inference, evidently, feel it in your bones, figure on it, for granted, give credence to something, given, go out on a limb, goes without saying, grant that, granted, guaranteed, have a feeling (a hunch, a sneaking suspicion), hold (that), infer, it follows (that), jump to conclusions, make no mistake, naively believe, naturally, needless to say, no doubt (question), of course, posit, postulate, presume, presumed, presuppose, proceed on the basis that, reckon, rest assured, safe to assume, self-evident, set in stone, should be clear, stands to reason, suppose, surmise, suspect, take as fact (as given, as granted, for granted, take  take on trust (at face value), TAKE (IT) AS READ, that's settled (understood), without a doubt (question), written in stone, you can bet on it

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

"Whenever someone starts a sentence with 'Trust me', TAKE IT AS READ you shouldn’t."

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