shoot the breeze
To chat idly or generally waste time talkingTo chat idly or generally waste time talking.
» Tom and Mary were just shooting the breeze.
Том с Мэри просто трепались. — sharptoothed
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 senses(US, idiomatic, slang)To chat idly or generally waste time talking.
We were just standing around shooting the breeze.
ein Schwätzchen halten
чеса́ть языко́мčesátʹ jazykóm
- talk socially without exchanging too much information
Examples
5 sentencesTom and Mary were just shooting the breeze.
ruТом с Мэри просто трепались. — sharptoothed
Shall we shoot the breeze for a while before talking business?
Tom and Mary like to get together once a week to shoot the breeze.
Stop shooting the breeze and get to work!
ruХватит болтать и принимайся за работу! — Hellerick
Bill and John like to get together once a month to shoot the breeze.
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
A slang phrase, alluding to talking into the wind, and first recorded in 1919. In the variA slang phrase, alluding to talking into the wind, and first recorded in 1919. In the variant, first recorded in 1908, the word bull is used instead of breeze, and means empty talk or lies.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
shoots the breeze, shooting the breeze, shot the breeze, shot the breeze| Base form | shoot the breeze · to shoot the breeze |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | shoots the breeze |
| Present participle | shooting the breeze |
| Past simple | shot the breeze |
| Past participle | shot the breeze |
irregular · Lesson
Synonyms
16 synonyms- talk socially without exchanging too much information:chew the fatchatconfabulateconfabchitchatchit-chatchatterchaffer
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle