chew the rag

chew

[choo]
verb (used with object)
1.
to crush or grind with the teeth; masticate.
2.
to crush, damage, injure, etc., as if by chewing (often followed by up ): The faulty paper feeder chewed the letters up.
3.
to make by or as if by chewing: The puppy chewed a hole in my slipper.
4.
to meditate on; consider deliberately (often followed by over ): He chewed the problem over in his mind.
verb (used without object)
5.
to perform the act of crushing or grinding with the teeth.
6.
Informal. to chew tobacco.
7.
to meditate.
00:10
Chew the rag is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
noun
8.
an act or instance of chewing.
9.
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
chew·er, noun
un·chewed, adjective
well-chewed, adjective

Can be confused: chews, choose.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To chew the rag
Collins
World English Dictionary
chew (tʃuː) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—vb
1.  to work the jaws and teeth in order to grind (food); masticate
2.  to bite repeatedly: she chewed her nails anxiously
3.  (intr) to use chewing tobacco
4.  slang chew the fat, chew the rag
 a.  to argue over a point
 b.  to talk idly; gossip
 
—n
5.  the act of chewing
6.  something that is chewed: a chew of tobacco
 
[Old English ceowan; related to Old High German kiuwan, Dutch kauwen, Latin gingīva a gum]
 
'chewable
 
—adj
 
'chewer
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

chew
O.E. ceowan "to bite, chew," from W.Gmc. *keuwjanan, from PIE base *gjeu- "to chew." To chew (someone) out is military slang from World War II. Chewing gum is 1850, Amer.Eng., originally hardened secretions of the spruce tree.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

chew definition


  1. in.
    to eat. : Man, I'm hungry. It's time to chew!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

chew (sth) definition


  1. tv.
    to talk something over. : Why don't we do lunch sometime and chew this over?
  2. tv.
    to think something over. : I'll have to chew it over for a while. I'm not sure now.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

chew the fat definition


and chew the rag
  1. tv.
    to chat or gossip. : Put your carcass over on the chair, and let's chew the fat for a while. , We chewed the rag for a while and then went out to eat.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
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