"Chewing the fat" or "chew the rags" [1] are English expressions for gossiping or making friendly small talk, or a long and informal conversation with someone. [2]
"Chewing the fat" or "chew the rags" [1] are English expressions for gossiping or making friendly small talk, or a long and informal conversation with someone. [2]
Although some sources attribute the phrase "chew the fat" to sailors, who during a period of resting and conversing, or while working together, [3] would chew on salt-hardened fat, [4] there are no reliable historical recordings of this practice. There is even a suggestion the phrase derives from a practice by North American Indians or Inuit of chewing animal hides during their spare time, and even of British farmers chewing on cooked pork, [5] but again, there remains no evidence supporting these claims, and this would require accepting a great deal of uncertainty in connecting the phrase from nautical origins to its modern metaphorical use. [3]
There are also claims the phrase is synonymous with the action of chewing on fat, or simply an allusion to the movement of the mouth during chewing. [6] Noting that fried fat is appealing in taste, it was regarded as a treat that someone could chew on for as long as possible to gain the most out of it. [7]
The Oxford English Dictionary 's earliest citation for "Chew the fat" is from 1885 in a book by J Brunlees Patterson called Life in the Ranks of the British Army in India. He implied it was a kind of general grumbling and bending of the ears of junior officers to stave off boredom, a typical part of army life. [8] Patterson also uses "chew the rag" in the same sentence he used "chew the fat", but it is not the oldest occurrence of that phrase. [8] Prior to the adoption of metallic cartridges, most ammunition was composed of powder and a ball wrapped in paper or cloth soaked in animal fat, which was bitten open during musket drill. Soldiers were known to chew on these ends to pass the time and reduce nerves, and in some cases to stave off cravings for chewing tobacco. Though long-since replaced by 1885, the idea of biting or chewing on fat-soaked rag ends may well have entered military parlance in this fashion prior to Patterson's recording.[ citation needed ]
Appearing first in print from 1875 in "Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang", the excerpt reads:
"Gents, I could chew the rag hours on end, just spilling out the words and never know no more than a Billy-Bennett-goat what I’d been saying." [8]
There is speculation this phrase relates to cloth, when ladies would work in "sewing circles", [9] or that women may have gossiped while quilting. [3]
They first appeared synonymously as early as 1885, [6] in J. Brunlees Patterson's "Life in the ranks of the British army in India and on board a troopship", which listed the terms in succession:
"..whistling, singing, arguing the point, chewing the rag, or fat, or other voluble and noisy inflictions, such as the screeching and gabbling of parrots and yelping of canines.." [10]
It was used as a way to describe complaining or grumbling, [6] typically by the military.
It was not until 1907 the phrase "chew the fat" was used to express partaking in idle conversation, [6] for a friendly talk, or a gossip session. [9] It has also been used as a way to define telling tall tales. [11]
In ham radio, extended conversation, as opposed to just exchanging basic information (name, location, equipment), is called "ragchewing". [12]
Chewin' the Fat was the title of a Scottish comedy sketch show, starring Ford Kiernan, Greg Hemphill and Karen Dunbar. Chewin' the Fat first started as a radio series on BBC Radio Scotland.
Chew-The-Fat.com is a UK-based website (now moved to chew-the-fat.org.uk) hosting a web forum, described as "The chat forum your mother warned you about", devoted to chat, gossip, and humorous banter and cartoons. [13]
Chew The Fat is a food and travel podcast, presented and produced by GastroGays (Russell Alford and Patrick Hanlon), which focuses on food personalities and producers across Ireland and the UK, including Nigella Lawson, Donal Skehan and Niamh Kavanagh.
In 1999, in a widespread hoax called "Life in the 1500s", false information was circulated through email regarding "chew the fat". [14] Among offering explanations for many phrases, the email stated:
"When company came over, they would bring out some bacon and hang it to show it off. It was a sign of wealth and that a man 'could really bring home the bacon.' They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and 'chew the fat.' " [15]
Notably, Karl Pilkington propagated this story during episode eight of the second series of The Ricky Gervais Show on XFM London.
The false email spurred a reexamination of popularly sourced etymologies of many folk phrases and idioms. [11] [14] [16] Although it has been widely accepted as accurate, [8] this misinformation has since been dispelled.
An idiom is a phrase or expression that largely or exclusively carries a figurative or non-literal meaning, rather than making any literal sense. Categorized as formulaic language, an idiomatic expression's meaning is different from the literal meanings of each word inside it. Idioms occur frequently in all languages; in English alone there are an estimated twenty-five thousand idiomatic expressions. Some well known idioms in English are spill the beans, it's raining cats and dogs, and break a leg.
Chengyu are a type of traditional Chinese idiomatic expressions, most of which consist of four Chinese characters. Chengyu were widely used in Literary Chinese and are still common in written vernacular Chinese writing and in the spoken language today. According to the most stringent definition, there are about 5,000 chengyu in the Chinese language, though some dictionaries list over 20,000. Chengyu are considered the collected wisdom of the Chinese culture, and contain the experiences, moral concepts, and admonishments from previous generations of Chinese speakers. Chengyu still play an important role in Chinese conversation and education. Chinese idioms are one of four types of formulaic expressions, which also include collocations, two-part allegorical sayings called xiehouyu, and proverbs.
The expression as the crow flies is an idiom for the most direct path between two points.
Jesus H. Christ is an expletive interjection that refers to the Christian religious figure of Jesus. It is typically uttered in anger, surprise, or frustration; although often with humorous intent.
Chewin' the Fat is a Scottish comedy sketch show, starring Ford Kiernan, Greg Hemphill and Karen Dunbar. Comedians Paul Riley and Mark Cox also appeared regularly on the show among other actors such as Tom Urie.
Eating crow is a colloquial idiom, used in some English-speaking countries, that means humiliation by admitting having been proven wrong after taking a strong position. The crow is a carrion-eater that is presumably repulsive to eat in the same way that being proven wrong might be emotionally hard to swallow. The exact origin of the idiom is unknown, but it probably began with an American story published around 1850 about a dim-witted New York farmer.
Taking the piss is a colloquial term meaning to mock at the expense of others, or to be joking, without the element of offence. It is a shortening of the idiom taking the piss out of, which is an expression meaning to mock, tease, joke, ridicule, or scoff. Taking the Mickey, taking the Mick or taking the Michael are additional terms for making fun of someone. These terms are most often used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia.
Michael Brian Quinion is a British etymologist and writer. He ran World Wide Words, a website devoted to linguistics. He graduated from Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he studied physical sciences and after which he joined BBC radio as a studio manager.
A red herring is something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important question. It may be either a logical fallacy or a literary device that leads readers or audiences toward a false conclusion. A red herring may be used intentionally, as in mystery fiction or as part of rhetorical strategies, or may be used in argumentation inadvertently.
Making a mountain out of a molehill is an idiom referring to over-reactive, histrionic behaviour where a person makes too much of a minor issue. It seems to have come into existence in the 16th century.
The English-language idiom "raining cats and dogs" or "raining dogs and cats" is used to describe particularly heavy rain. It is of unknown etymology and is not necessarily related to the raining animals phenomenon. The phrase has been used at least since the 17th century.
"Bob's your uncle" is an idiom commonly used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries that means "and there it is", or "and there you have it", or "it's done". Typically, someone says it to conclude a set of simple instructions or when a result is reached. The meaning is similar to that of the French expression "et voilà!".
A fossil word is a word that is broadly obsolete but remains in current use due to its presence within an idiom or phrase. An example for a word sense is 'ado' in 'much ado'. An example for a phrase is 'in point' (relevant), which is retained in the larger phrases 'case in point' and 'in point of fact', but is rarely used outside of a legal context.
Selling, carrying, bringing, or taking coal(s) to Newcastle is an idiom of British origin describing a pointless action. It refers to the fact that, historically, the economy of Newcastle upon Tyne in north-eastern England was heavily dependent on the distribution and sale of coal and therefore any attempt to sell coal to Newcastle would be foolhardy as supply would be greater there than anywhere else in Britain. Similarly, Newcastle, New South Wales has one of the largest coal ports in the world, and hence it would also be meaningless to ship coals there.
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words. By another definition, an idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements. For example, an English speaker would understand the phrase "kick the bucket" to mean "to die" – and also to actually kick a bucket. Furthermore, they would understand when each meaning is being used in context.
A sewing circle is a group of people who meet regularly for the purpose of sewing, often for charitable causes.
"In like Flynn" is a slang phrase meaning "having quickly or easily achieved a goal or gained access as desired."
The term monkey's uncle, most notably seen in the idiom "(Well,) I'll be a monkey's uncle", is used to express complete surprise, amazement or disbelief. It can also be used to acknowledge the impossibility of a situation, in the same way that "pigs might fly" is used. An example is if one says: "I may agree that if two plus two equals five, then I am a monkey's uncle".
The Military ranks of Tajikistan are the military insignia used by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan. Being a former member of Soviet Union, Tajikistan shares a rank structure similar to that of Russia. Tajikistan is a landlocked country, and does therefore not possess a navy.
