第558期:听到Chew the fat别怕, 人家只想和你聊聊天

 　　和朋友聊天，通常我们会用talk with sb.或是chat with sb.,但是今天的这个短语很有趣，字面翻译过来就是“吃肥肉”，那么英语中为什么用“吃肥肉”来表达聊天的意思呢？先来看一下这个短语的起源。

　　Origin

　　Chewing the fat is speculated to be something that was done at leisure by the North American Indians. Farmers in Britain would chew on pork fat when sitting idle or chatting with other farmers. It is also speculated to be an activity that sailors would do. They would have hardened and salted animal fat which would provide nutrients¹ when on a voyage but would be required to be chewed for a long time.

　　据推测，咀嚼脂肪是北美印第安人在闲暇时做的事。英国农民闲坐或和其他农民聊天时都会嚼猪肉。也有认为水手们也会嚼咸脂肪。用盐腌制动物脂肪会变硬，这些脂肪在航行时能提供营养，但需要长时间咀嚼。

　　Meaning

　　a long and informal conversation with someone

　　与某人的长而非正式的谈话

　　to gossip with friends at leisure

　　闲暇时与朋友八卦

　　Example Sentences

　　1. How nice to see you here. Have a seat and let's chew the fat for a while.

　　很高兴在这里见到你。请坐，我们聊一会儿。

　　2. I was able to convince grandma to go with us, after chewing the fat for about an hour with her.

　　我能说服奶奶和我们一起去——是因为和她聊了快一个小时。

1 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》