champ at the bit
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From champ (verb) (“to chew noisily”) + bit (“part of horse's harness held in its mouth”); horses tend to chew their bits when impatient with waiting.
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Verb[edit]
champ at the bit (third-person singular simple present champs at the bit, present participle champing at the bit, simple past and past participle champed at the bit)
- (intransitive, equestrianism) To bite the bit, especially when restless.
- (intransitive, idiomatic, of a person) To show impatience or frustration when delayed.
- 2001: Byron Spice, Science Editor, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PG News read at [1] on 14 May 2006
- Pittsburgh supercomputer is complete, and scientists are champing at the bit to use it.
- 2006: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, webpage for Ideas with wings, a radio series supporting innovation read at http://abc.net.au/science/wings/ on 14 May 2006
- Everyone is champing at the bit to be labelled innovative.
- 2006: Al Rosenquist of Pastika’s Sport Shop, speaking to Terrell Boettcher of Sawyer County Record, Hayward, Wisconsin, Anglers champing at the bit read at [2] on 14 May 2006
- We had quite a few people in last weekend. They’re champing at the bit, ready to go.
- 2001: Byron Spice, Science Editor, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PG News read at [1] on 14 May 2006
Synonyms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
of horse: to bite the bit
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to show impatience when delayed
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