chew

[choo] /tʃu/

verb (used with object)

to crush or grind with the teeth; masticate.

to crush, damage, injure, etc., as if by chewing (often followed by up):

The faulty paper feeder chewed the letters up.

to make by or as if by chewing:

The puppy chewed a hole in my slipper.

to meditate on; consider deliberately (often followed by over):

He chewed the problem over in his mind.

verb (used without object)

to perform the act of crushing or grinding with the teeth.

Informal. to chew tobacco.

to meditate.

noun

an act or instance of chewing.

something chewed or intended for chewing:

a chew of tobacco; taffy chews.

Verb phrases

10.

chew out, Slang. to scold harshly:

The sergeant chewed out the recruits.

Idioms

11.

chew the fat, Informal. to converse at length in a relaxed manner; chat:

They liked to sit around chewing the fat.

Also, chew the rag.

Origin

before 1000; Middle English chewen, Old English cēowan; cognate with Old High German kiuwan (German kauen)

Related forms

chewer, noun

unchewed, adjective

well-chewed, adjective

Can be confused

chews, choose.

British Dictionary definitions for chew the fat

chew

/tʃuː/

verb

to work the jaws and teeth in order to grind (food); masticate

to bite repeatedly: she chewed her nails anxiously

(intransitive) to use chewing tobacco

(slang) chew the fat, chew the rag

to argue over a point
to talk idly; gossip

noun

the act of chewing

something that is chewed: a chew of tobacco

chew

Old English ceowan "to bite, gnaw, chew," from West Germanic *keuwwan (cf. Middle Low German keuwen, Dutch kauwen, Old High German kiuwan, German kauen), from PIE root *gyeu- "to chew" (cf. Old Church Slavonic živo "to chew," Lithuanian žiaunos "jaws," Persian javidan "to chew").

Figurative sense of "to think over" is from late 14c.; to chew the rag "discusss some matter" is from 1885, apparently originally British army slang. Related: Chewed; chewing. To chew (someone) out (1948) probably is military slang from World War II. Chewing gum is by 1843, American English, originally hardened secretions of the spruce tree.

c.1200, "an act of chewing," from chew (v.). Meaning "wad of tobacco chewed at one time" is from 1725; as a kind of chewy candy, by 1906.

Slang definitions & phrases for chew the fat

chew the fat

verb phrase

To converse, esp in a relaxed and reminiscent way •In earlier senses the terms meant ''to complain; wrangle'': You want a press conference, or do you want to chew the fat? (1900s+)

chew

noun

: He had big chew in his cheek (1920s+)

verb

To chew tobacco (1930s+)
To eat (1890+)
(also chew over) To talk; converse; discuss; jaw: We got together to chew about the election/ Drop up and chew it over (1890s+)

Idioms and Phrases with chew the fat

chew the fat

Also, chew the rag. Chat in a friendly, leisurely way, as in Let's get together for coffee and chew the fat, or John and Dave spend hours just chewing the rag. Before the 1880s in Britain, chew the fat meant “to grumble or complain,” and chew the rag also has been used in this way. Today both expressions are largely synonyms for a friendly talk or gossip session. Why this idiom uses fat and rag is not known, but some speculate that fat refers to juicy items of gossip and rag to ladies' sewing circles and the cloth they worked on while chatting.

chew

also see:

bite off more than one can chew