I read this sentence in a book:
Berezovsky left Russia permanently the next month, taking up exile in England, where he continued to criticize Putin’s regime.
But I can't find the usage of "take up exile" in dictionaries. Google's ngram shows this usage started to appear since the 1930s.
My questions is:
- Does this just mean "be exiled"?
- What does "take up" mean in this case?
- Is this somewhat colloquial?
- Is it because this usage is new so it has not been included in dictionaries?