Idiom: Chew the fat
People talk.
It’s a fact of life.
No matter where you go, people chew the fat in cafes while sitting on park benches or even on the side of roads.
It’s important to note here that chewing the fat differs from just simple chatting.
Chatting means making small talk with someone for a few moments and then moving on again.
Quite often, people don’t enjoy making small talk because they say it’s hard to find a topic to talk about and it hard to find something to say about it.
Well, when people chew the fat, they have no problem finding an issue and have no trouble finding something to say about it.
When you chew the fat, you have a leisurely talk with someone for a long time. People often chew the fat in a group or with a good friend.
Living in Japan’s Wakayama countryside, I see people chewing the fat all the time.
It’s very common to see a group of elderly ladies sitting on the ground alongside a mandarine orchard or on the curb of a road, eating mandarines and talking about something or someone.
More than likely, they are talking about someone because, after all, talking about someone is more likely to be much more interesting than talking about something.
The closest I can get to chewing the fat in Japanese is 井戸端会議 which roughly translates as a conference around a well.
I think this translation is a good one because people often chew the fat whenever they need to be in one place for a long time together.
Chewing the fat is a great way to pass the time when there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in a group.
Consider how local farmers sort and package fruit in Japan or how some Western ladies will form a sewing or quilting circle to make clothing, bedding and other similar articles.
The next time you find yourself lost in conversation with someone for a long time, remember that you have been chewing the fat without gaining any weight!
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