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ORIGIN: This is a fairly new phrase which seems to have been started in the quality British newspapers in the 1990s to describe the people who subscribe to common current beliefs and prejudices. chew the fat точить лясы; чесать языки; трепаться, болтать M E A N I N G : to have a friendly, informal talk; to chat in a relaxed way My friend and I sat up half the night just chewing the fat. 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. At any rate, if you’re just hanging out, talking with your friends in an easy, relaxed way, you’re chewing the fat. chip off the old block точная копия (родителей) M E A N I N G : a child bearing a strong resemblance in appearance or character to one of the parents I never realized how much Felix looks like his father. He’s a real chip off the old block. ORIGIN: The comparison of the child to a small off cut from a large piece of wood or stone is found in ancient Greek literature and more recently in a seventeenth century collection of proverbs by John Ray (1670). A block can be of wood or stone. If you chipped off a little piece of it, the chip would resemble the big block – for instance, in color and texture. In the same way, a child (chip) might act and look like the parents (the old block). chock a block до отказа / битком набит M E A N I N G : completely full / squashed together in a limited space 27