chew the cud

Idioms  

1. Also, chew over. Ponder over, meditate, as in John tends to chew the cud before he answers, or Let me chew that over and let you know. The first term, first recorded in 1382, transfers the appearance of a patiently ruminating cow to a person deep in thought. The variant was first recorded in 1696.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chew the cud

She said it was "so lovely that anybody would bother to come up and chew the cud with you for a while"

From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2026

From London, Rabaiotti said methane emissions from cattle are belch-focused because the gas is produced near the start of their digestive system and comes up when they regurgitate their food to chew the cud.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 28, 2019

They chew the cud and swallow it again.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2018

I didn't sign for Bristol City to chew the cud and be put out to pasture for the last few years of my football career.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 24, 2010

The hens perched themselves on the window-sills, the pigeons fluttered up to the rafters, the sheep and cows lay down behind the pigs and began to chew the cud.

From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell