[chest] See: OFF ONE’S CHEST, ON ONE’S CHEST.

[chew] See: BITE OFF MORE THAN ONE CAN CHEW.

[chew out]{v.}, {slang} To scold roughly. •/The boy’s fatherchewed him out for staying up late./ •/The coach chews out lazy players./Syn.: BAWL OUT, CALL ON THE CARPET, HAUL OVER THE COALS.

[chew the fat] or [chew the rag] {v. phr.}, {slang} To talktogether in an idle, friendly fashion; chat. •/We used to meet after work,and chew the fat over coffee and doughnuts./ •/The old man would chew therag for hours with anyone who would join him./

[chew the scenery]{v. phr.}, {slang} To act overemotionally in asituation where it is inappropriate; to engage in histrionics. •/I don’t knowif Joe was sincere about our house, but he sure chewed up the scenery!/

[chicken] See: COUNT ONE’S CHICKENS BEFORE THEY ARE HATCHED, GO TO BED WITHTHE CHICKENS, SPRING CHICKEN.

[chicken-brained]{adj.} Stupid; narrow-minded; unimaginative. •/Ican’t understand how a bright woman like Helen can date such a chicken-brainedguy as Oliver./

[chicken feed]{n.}, {slang} A very small sum of money. •/Johnand Bill worked very hard, but they were only paid chicken feed./ •/Mr.Jones is so rich be thinks a thousand dollars is chicken feed./

[chicken-hearted]{adj.} Cowardly; excessively timid. •/"Come on,let’s get on that roller coaster," she cried. "Don’t be so chicken-hearted."/See: CHICKEN-LIVERED.

[chicken-livered]{adj.}, {slang}, {colloquial} Easily scared;cowardly. •/Joe sure is a chicken-livered guy./ See: CHICKEN-HEARTED.

[chicken out]{v. phr.}, {informal} To stop doing something becauseof fear; to decide not to do something after all even though previously havingdecided to try it. •/I used to ride a motorcycle on the highway, but I’vechickened out./ •/I decided to take flying lessons but just before theystarted I chickened out./

[chickens come home to roost]{informal} Words or acts come back tocause trouble for a person; something bad you said or did receives punishment;you get the punishment that you deserve. •/Fred’s chickens finally came hometo roost today. He was late so often that the teacher made him go to theprincipal./ — Often used in a short form. •/Mary’s selfishness will comehome to roost some day./

[chicken switch]{n.}, {slang}, {Space English} 1. Theemergency eject button used by test pilots in fast and high flying aircraft bymeans of which they can parachute to safety if the engine fails; later adoptedby astronauts in space capsules. •/Don’t pull the chicken switch, unlessabsolutely necessary./ 2. The panic button; a panicky reaction to anunforeseen situation, such as unreasonable or hysterical telephone calls tofriends for help. •/Joe pulled the chicken switch on his neighbor when thegrease started burning in the kitchen./

[child] See: BURNT CHILD DREADS THE FIRE, WITH CHILD.

[children and fools speak the truth] Children and fools say things withoutthinking; they say what they think or know when grown-ups might not think itwas polite or wise to do so. — A proverb. •/"Uncle Willie is too fat," saidlittle Agnes. "Children and fools speak the truth," said her father./

[children should be seen and not heard] A command issued by adults tochildren ordering them to be quiet and not to interrupt. — A proverb. •/Yourchildren should not argue so loudly. Haven’t you taught them that childrenshould be seen and not heard?/

[child’s play]{adj.} Easy; requiring no effort. •/Mary’s work as avolunteer social worker is so agreeable to her that she thinks of it as child’splay./

[chill] See: SPINE-CHILLING.

[chime in]{v.} 1. {informal} To join in. •/The whole groupchimed in on the chorus./ •/When the argument got hot, John chimed in./2. To agree; go well together. — Usually used with "with". •/Dick was happy,and the holiday music chimed in with his feelings./ •/When Father suggestedgoing to the shore for the vacation, the whole family chimed in with theplan./

[chin] See: KEEP ONE’S CHIN UP, STICK ONE’S NECK OUT or STICK ONE’S CHINOUT, TAKE IT ON THE CHIN, UP TO THE CHIN IN.

[china shop] See: BULL IN A CHINA SHOP.

[China syndrome]{n.}, {informal} From the title of the movie withJane Fonda and Jack Lemmon. The possibility that an industrial nuclear reactormight explode, literally affecting the other side of the planet (as if byeating a hole through the earth all the way to China.) •/Antinucleardemonstrators are greatly worried about the China syndrome./

[chip] See: CASH IN ONE’S CHIPS at CASH-IN, IN THE CHIPS. LET THE CHIPSFALL WHERE THEY MAY, FISH-AND-CHIPS, WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN.

[chip in] or [kick in] {v.}, {informal} To give together withothers, contribute. •/The pupils chipped in a dime apiece for the teacher’sChristmas present./ •/All the neighbors kicked in to help after thefire./ •/Lee chipped in ten points in the basketball game./ •/Joedidn’t say much but chipped in a few words./

[chip off the old block]{n. phr.} A person whose character traitsclosely resemble those of his parents. •/I hear that Tom plays the violin inthe orchestra his father conducts; he sure is a chip off the old block./

[chip on one’s shoulder]{n. phr.}, {informal} A quarrelsomenature; readiness to be angered. •/He went through life with a chip on hisshoulder./ •/Jim often gets into fights because he goes around with a chipon his shoulder./

[chips] See: WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN.

[chisel] or [muscle in on] {v. phr.} To illegitimately andforcefully intrude into someone’s traditional sales or professional arena ofoperation. •/Tim has a good sales territory, but he is always afraid thatsomeone might chisel in on it./ •/Las Vegas casino owners are concernedthat the Mafia might muscle in on their territory./

[choice] See: BY CHOICE, FIELDER’S CHOICE.

[choke off]{v.} To put a sudden end to; stop abruptly or forcefully.•/It was almost time for the meeting to end, and the presiding officer had tomove to choke off debate./ •/The war choked off diamond shipments fromoverseas./

[choke up]{v.} 1a. To come near losing calmness or self-control fromstrong feeling; be upset by your feelings. •/When one speaker after anotherpraised John, he choked up and couldn’t thank them./ •/When Father tried totell me how glad he was to see me safe after the accident, he choked up and wasunable to speak./ 1b. {informal} To be unable to do well because ofexcitement or nervousness. •/Bill was a good batter, but in the championshipgame he choked up and did poorly./ 2. To fill up; become clogged or blocked;become hard to pass through. •/The channel had choked up with sand so thatboats couldn’t use it./

[choose] See: PICK AND CHOOSE.

[chooser] See: BEGGARS CAN’T BE CHOOSERS.

[choose up sides]{v. phr.} To form two teams with two captains takingturns choosing players. •/The boys chose up sides for a game of softball./•/Tom and Joe were the captains. They chose up sides./

[chop] See: LICK ONE’S CHOPS.

[chow line]{n.}, {slang} A line of people waiting for food.•/The chow line was already long when John got to the dining hall./ •/Thesoldiers picked up trays and got into the chow line./