Don't bite off more than you can chew

Posted by ESC February 13, 2009 at 13:02In reply to Don't bite off more than you can chew posted by Neri on February 13, 2009 at 11:44:

I'm looking for the origin of the idion "Don't bite off more than you can chew". Can anyone help?

One reference says: "...Its figurative meaning seems to have arisen in the United States in the latter part of the 19th century, with the first recorded use of the term appearing in 1878 in J.H. Beadle's 'Western Wilds': 'Men, you've bit off more'n you can chew.'" From The Dictionary of Cliches by James Rogers (Wings Books, Originally New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985). Page 26.

Replies

Don't bite off more than you can chew Joe 13/February/09
- Don't bite off more than you can chew ESC 13/February/09