bite off more than one can chew
Take on more work or a bigger task than one can handle, as in With two additional jobs, Bill is clearly biting off more than he can chew. Cautions against taking on too much appear in medieval sources, although this particular metaphor, alluding to taking in more food than one can chew, dates only from about 1870.
Words Nearby bite off more than one can chew
- bitchy
- bitcoin
- bite
- bite back
- bite me
- bite off more than one can chew
- bite one's nails
- bite one's tongue
- biteplate
- biter
- bite-size
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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