English · Proverb Candidate

don't bite off more than you can chew

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Do not take on more responsibility than you can handle

Literally: bite off more food than can be chewed

Examples

I wanted to start a new business, but my friend told me not to bite off more than I can chew

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “don't bite off more than you can chew” mean?

Do not take on more responsibility than you can handle Literally: bite off more food than can be chewed

Is “don't bite off more than you can chew” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

👁 Views 0 today 0 past 7 days 0 this month 0 all time