Biting Off More Than You Can Chew
Yesterday I saw a video that reminded me of this phrase. The video is from 2009, but it showed up on my YouTube feed. In the video, there is a sea snake eating an eel. The eel appears to be larger than the snake. Clearly the snake was biting off more than it could chew.
In the video, the snake literally bit something that was too big for it to chew. However, this proverb is mostly used in a metaphoric sense. It means to try to do more than one is capable of doing.
Example: I told her that I would finish the video editing by Friday. It’s harder than I expected and now I doubt I will finish on time. I really bit off more than could chew this time.
The origin of this phrase is old and likely literal. However, the proverb is usually linked to tobacco (in my research). People would chew tobacco in the 18th century. Sometimes they would share the tobacco. Tobacco came in leaves or bars and the user would bite off some of it to chew like gum. They would be cautioned to not bite off more than they could chew. As a proverb, the phrase has been used in print since the 1870s.
For more English phrases and quotes, follow me on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ESL-ToyBox-112152010890485
Reference:
https://youtu.be/yS0X5JqFiZQ