What do puppies do when they get hold of an old shoe or slipper? They keep chewing at it. Babies, when they are teething, keep chewing at things. When you chew at something, you gnaw at it. In other words, you keep biting the object for a long period of time.
*The little animal kept chewing at the leather jeans all night. *While the parents were busy watching TV, the baby was chewing at the belt.
“Chew out”, unlike “chew at” is mostly used in informal contexts because it is considered slang. When you “chew someone out” what you are doing is scolding him.
*I told Usha that I’d be late, and as expected she chewed me out. *Vinita gave the new students a good chewing-out.
Source: ‘Know Your English’ Series – The Hindu Daily, August 8 , 2005.
*The little animal kept chewing at the leather jeans all night. *While the parents were busy watching TV, the baby was chewing at the belt.
“Chew out”, unlike “chew at” is mostly used in informal contexts because it is considered slang. When you “chew someone out” what you are doing is scolding him.
*I told Usha that I’d be late, and as expected she chewed me out. *Vinita gave the new students a good chewing-out.
Source: ‘Know Your English’ Series – The Hindu Daily, August 8 , 2005.
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