chew the fat
To chat idly or generally waste time talkingTo chat idly or generally waste time talking.
» Mabel loves to chew the fat while playing bridge.
CP · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 senses(informal)To chat idly or generally waste time talking.
We're not supposed to waste time chewing the fat with the customers.
- talk socially without exchanging too much information
Examples
2 sentencesMabel loves to chew the fat while playing bridge.
She chewed the fat.
Origin
One of the possible origins is from the fact that after a meal people would go into theirOne of the possible origins is from the fact that after a meal people would go into their sitting room with their guests and chit chat while chewing on the fat left over from a meal.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
chews the fat, chewing the fat, chewed the fat, chewed the fat| Base form | chew the fat · to chew the fat |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | chews the fat |
| Present participle | chewing the fat |
| Past simple | chewed the fat |
| Past participle | chewed the fat |
irregular
Synonyms
16 synonyms- talk socially without exchanging too much information:shoot the breezechatconfabulateconfabchitchatchit-chatchatterchaffer
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.