shoot the breeze

Idioms  

1. Also,. Talk idly, chat, as in They've been sitting on the porch for hours, just shooting the breeze, or The guys sit around the locker room, throwing the bull. The first of these slangy terms, alluding to talking into the wind, was first recorded in 1919. In the variant, first recorded in 1908, bull is a shortening of bullshit, and means “empty talk” or “lies.”

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Example Sentences

Together, they shoot the breeze like Vladimir and Estragon - but rather than waiting for Godot, they're waiting for the next arena car park.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2025

In one beautifully uncanny scene, the duo stop by a virtual reality gaming studio and, equipped with headsets, plug into the fantasy, playing as flying sorcerers as they shoot the breeze.

From New York Times • May 4, 2023

They’ll all shoot the breeze, ask about family, complain about the water bill or something.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 1, 2022

My Dinner with André Wallace Shawn and theater director André Gregory shoot the breeze while sharing a meal at a fancy Manhattan restaurant in Louis Malle’s philosophical 1981 comedy.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2020

A better question: Did he really think I was going to pull up a chair and shoot the breeze about the good old days?

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken