Question

Chew the Fat to have a friendly, informal talk; to chat in a relaxed way

Accepted Answer

My friend and I sat up half the night just chewing the fat. In the late 1800s this expression was popular in the British army, and then it came to the United States. One possible origin might be that military and naval people were given tough meat to eat and they had to chew the fat of the meat as they talked. The action of chewing is like the action of speaking (see "chew someone out"). At any rate, if you're just hanging out, talking with your friends in an easy, relaxed way, you're "chewing the fat" (or "rag"). A similar expression is to "shoot the breeze."

Idiom	Chew the Fat
Example	My friend and I sat up half the night just chewing the fat.
Meaning	to have a friendly, informal talk; to chat in a relaxed way
Origin	In the late 1800s this expression was popular in the British army, and then it came to the United States. One possible origin might be that military and naval people were given tough meat to eat and they had to chew the fat of the meat as they talked. The action of chewing is like the action of speaking (see "chew someone out"). At any rate, if you're just hanging out, talking with your friends in an easy, relaxed way, you're "chewing the fat" (or "rag"). A similar expression is to "shoot the breeze."

Fat Chew Chewing Relaxed Expression Meat Action Friend