proverb · Words worth keeping
Don’t bite off more than you can chew.
Don’t bite off more than you can chew.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Taking a bite too large to chew compares excessive commitment with more food than can be managed. It asks that responsibilities match available capacity.
What the words are saying
The bodily image makes overextension concrete, but it is not a food or medical instruction. A useful interpretation considers time, resources, support and competing obligations. Capacity can change, and asking for assistance or revising an undertaking need not be treated as weakness.
Everyday example
A volunteer checks their available time before agreeing to several tasks and asks to share one responsibility.
When to use it
Use it to discuss a manageable commitment with support considered.
What it does not mean
Capacity is contextual; the phrase supplies neither a clinical rule nor a judgment of personal worth.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 802; PDF page 114
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.